The police in Hyderabad on Wednesday claimed to have caught three persons red-handed while they were trying to 'buy' four MLAs belonging to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
The three persons were detained during a raid at a farm house in Aziz Nagar on the outskirts of the city while offering money to four TRS MLAs.
The Cyberabad police conducted the raids following a tip-off by the legislators. One of those detained is from Delhi, while the other two are from Tirupati and Hyderabad.
The police have reportedly seized Rs 15 crore so far. Cyberabad Police Commissioner Stephen Ravindra said the deal could be to the tune of Rs 100 crore.
TRS MLAs Rega Kantha Rao, Guvvala Balaraju, Beeram Harshvardhan Reddy and Pilot Rohit Reddy had alerted the police that attempts were being made to lure them to switch loyalties.
Ravindra said the MLAs alleged that some BJP leaders were trying to lure them to defect from the TRS by offering prominent posts, contracts and huge amount of cash.
The TRS has alleged that the BJP is trying to lure its MLAs to defect, adding that those detained by the police are close to BJP leaders.
Source IANS