HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has rejected the plea to stay the investigation into the Begumpet hit-and-run case, which occurred on December 24, 2023. The case involves former Bodhan MLA Mohd Shakil whose BMW car caused damage to the road divider at Praja Bhavan.
The court was hearing a criminal petition filed by the ex-MLA and five other accused in the case. According to Panjagutta police, an FIR was registered, stating that Sahil, the 19-year-old son of the former MLA, was driving the car during the incident. Shakil sought the assistance of certain police officers in Nizamabad and Panjagutta to replace Sahil with one Abdul Asif. Asif then surrendered to the police, falsely claiming responsibility for the accident. Subsequently, upon discovering the facts, the police named the former MLA, his son, and their associates as accused in the case.
The six accused, including Shakil and Asif, approached the high court seeking quashing of the FIR, arguing that the police were adding more individuals as accused without sufficient evidence. Their counsel, Bommineni Vivekananda, urged the court to instruct the police not to take coercive steps against the accused.
However, public prosecutor Palle Nageswara Rao, opposed any relief for the accused. He argued that the accused used the help of police to evade the law and escape to Dubai. He expressed scepticism about the authorisation and vakalat given to the local advocate, pointing out the absence of attestation by embassy officials in Dubai.
Justice K Lakshman concurred with the prosecutor, stating that he was not inclined to stay the investigation or issue a direction against coercive measures. The case is scheduled to be heard again on February 9.