Lawyer goes to police to complain of Mangli threats, gets breath-tested instead

Hyderabad: The Punjagutta Police on Monday, April 13, conducted a breath analyser test on Advocate Subba Rao, who is representing the victims of an investment ponzi scheme allegedly orchestrated by folk singer Satyavathi Chouhan alias Mangli’s brother and his partners.

It all unfolded inside the Punjagutta Police Station when Subba Rao, along with the victims, went there to lodge complaints that they were being threatened by Mangli.

When the police suspected that he was under the influence of alcohol, they conducted a breath analyser test on him, which showed a reading of 27 mg alcohol content, which the police said was permissible even for driving.

However, Punjagutta Circle Inspector (CI) Ramakrishna said that action would be initiated against Subba Rao for entering the police station, which is a public place having sanctity, under the influence of alcohol.

Subba Rao, who initially objected to the test claiming that it was an “insult,” obliged and took the test. He alleged that the police officials were trying to divert the case and were part of a larger network of the scam.

The advocate questioned how the police could conduct the test when he was not driving any vehicle, and the alcohol in his body was a result of alcohol consumption on Sunday night, April 12.

The case

Subba Rao has accused Mangli and others of defrauding him and several investors of nearly Rs 10 crore. According to the complaint, they allegedly lured around 100 to 150 people into a microfinance and business investment scheme by promising high returns through ventures in real estate, trading and import-export. 

CI Ramakrishna told the media that a week ago, Subba Rao had filed a complaint against Mangli stating that she had threatened him to withdraw the case.

“As there were no non-cognizable provisions in the case, we had to take the court’s permission to register the case and the case was registered. But Subba Rao hasn’t submitted any evidence or a witness,” the CI said, also informing that Mangli filed a complaint against Subba Rao on Sunday, claiming he threatened her.

He said legal opinion was being taken before taking any action based on her complaint. He also stated that no complaint was filed at Punjagutta Police Station in connection with the alleged scam.

Not succumbing to pressure: Advocate

Subba Rao questioned why Mangli hasn’t lodged any complaint against Ramavath Madhu, the prime accused in the case, for using her name to perpetrate the scam. He questioned why the folk singer didn’t release the video of him which she submitted to the police as evidence against him.

The advocate claimed that he was representing the victims honestly without succumbing to either pressure or lure for money from Mangli and her brother.

“She told me that she knew a central minister. The father of an MLA also called me to exert pressure. Even when we met at Pujari Narasimha Rao’s residence to discuss the issue, I told them that I couldn’t be bought,” Subba Rao claimed.