Hotel Demolition Case: Actor Venkatesh, Fam Booked

Hyderabad police have registered a criminal case against film actor Venkatesh and his family members in connection with the demolition of the Deccan Kitchen Hotel in Film Nagar.

On the direction of a city court, Film Nagar police registered a case under various sections.

The First Information Report (FIR) has named producer Daggubati Suresh as accused number one (A1), his brother Daggubati Venkatesh as A2, Suresh’s son and actor Daggubati Rana as A3 and Rana’s brother and producer Daggubati Abhiram as A4.

The case has been registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 448, 452, 458, and 120B for trespass and criminal conspiracy.

The Nampally court had Saturday directed police to register a case and take action for violation of court orders.

The court issued orders on a complaint by Nanda Kumar, accusing Venkatesh and his family members of illegal demolition.

The complainant alleged that despite a pending injunction from the city civil court and orders from the Telangana High Court, the accused unlawfully entered the properties and caused damage with the help of anti-social elements.

It was in November 2022 that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) had partially demolished the hotel and adjoining structures. They were constructed by Nanda Kumar, one of the accused in the alleged poaching of TRS MLAs, on land taken on lease from the Daggubati family.

Nanda Kumar had approached the high court, which had ordered status quo.

In January 2024, the Daggubati family completely demolished the structure. Nanda Kumar approached Nampally court for violHydation of court orders. He had claimed that he suffered a loss of ₹20 crore due to demolition and vandalism. The court had ordered police to investigate the matter.

The proceedings in the case continued and on Saturday the court issued directions to the police to register a case against the accused.

—IANS