HYDERABAD: The noose around former Medical and Health Minister Eatala Rajender's neck further tightened on Monday with the State government ordering yet another probe into the allegations that he and several others had encroached 1,000 acres of endowment lands in Devarayamjal village on Hyderabad's outskirts.
Ironically, the probe orders came even as the former minister was explaining to the media how hollow the allegations, reported in TRS mouthpieces -- Namasthe Telangana and Telangana Today, were.
Defending himself, Rajender argued that he and several others had purchased the lands even before they were declared as endowment land in 1990s and that pointing an accusing finger at him was nothing but witch-hunting.
The only leader who came in his support was Congress MP A Revanth Reddy, who released documents claiming that even KT Rama Rao, the TRS working president and son of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, too purchased the Devarayamjal lands.
The committee constituted to probe these land dealings is being headed by Commissioner Panchayat Raj M Raghunandan Rao.
Collectors of Nalgonda, Mancherial and Medchal, Prashanath Jeevan Patil, Bharati Hollikari and Swetha Mohanty respectively are the other members of the committee. The value of the Devarayamjal lands under the "illegal occupation" is about Rs 1,000 crore, the order said.
The order also said there were reports that large constructions have been made on these lands without any valid permission and in flagrant violation of several laws, gravely hurting the sentiments of the devotees and the donors.
These actions, the order said, constituted grave violations of several laws in force. However, responding to the charges framed against him on the assigned lands in Masaipet mandal in Medak district, Rajender said at his media conference earlier in the day that he would fight back by taking legal recourse.