Vigilance and Enforcement Directorate found serious allegations against the leader of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), Vidadala Rajini who happens to be a former minister in addition to IPS officer Palle Joshua. It revealed that they extorted Rs.2.20 crore from owners of Sri Lakshmi Balaji Stone Crusher located in Yedlapadu, Palnadu district.
As per the report, Vidadala Rajini was paid ₹2 crore, while ₹10 lakh was withdrawn by Joshua, and another ₹10 lakh was given to Rajini's PA. The Directorate has recommended that criminal cases be registered against all concerned and disciplinary action be initiated against Joshua in terms of the All India Services Rules. The report has been submitted to the government for further action.
Initial Demand for Funds
On 4 September 2020, Vidadala Rajini, an MLA at that time, asked her PA, Ramakrishna, to go to Sri Lakshmi Balaji Stone Crusher. She told the owners to meet her immediately. During the meeting, Rajini reportedly demanded ₹5 crore for allowing the crusher to continue its business without obstruction.
Three years after this, Palle Joshua was a Regional Vigilance and Enforcement Officer (RVEO) of Guntur district. He made a routine visit to the crusher premises where he found some discrepancies, allegedly threatened the owners for ₹50 crore, as per the reports. The owners were reportedly asked if they would pay heed to the demands of Rajini, or face penalties and complete seizure of their business operation.
Later, Joshua summoned the owners to his office and threatened them to finalize matters sooner. This forced the owners into making payments under coercion.
Faced with mounting pressure, the owners of Sri Lakshmi Balaji Stone Crusher reportedly paid ₹2 crore to Vidadala Rajini, ₹10 lakh to Joshua, and ₹10 lakh to Rajini’s PA. They were warned against revealing the transactions, with threats of criminal cases and business closure hanging over them.
The Vigilance and Enforcement Directorate condemned it as an outright abuse of power and insisted that the government bring it to book. They have also asked the government to bring them to book legally, to punish them for extorting money from others.
