Hyderabad : In a startling turn of events, Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Naveen Kumar Bhatt from Telangana found himself behind bars on Wednesday, ensnared in a property dispute linked to the assets of retired IPS officer Bhanwar Lal’s wife.
Bhatt, serving as the Deputy Director of the Telangana State Police Academy, was apprehended by the Central Crime Station (CCS) police. The arrest follows last month’s filing of a complaint by Mani Lal, the wife of Bhanwar Lal, against Bhatt, his brother-in-law Orsu Sambasiva Rao, and Rao’s wife O. Roopa Dimple.
The trio faces charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) along with Section 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).
While Sambasiva Rao and his wife were taken into custody on December 22, Bhatt, identified as accused number two, had been evading arrest until Wednesday.
The crux of the dispute revolves around Sambasiva Rao, a businessman, who continued occupying a house in posh Jubilee Hills that he had rented from Bhanwar Lal despite the expiration of the five-year rental agreement in 2019. Bhatt, allegedly in violation of the rental agreement, was residing in the same house. The complainant alleges that the accused concocted fake documents and forged signatures to wrongfully claim ownership.
In response, Bhatt’s family members counterclaimed, asserting that the arrest is part of a larger conspiracy against him. Bhatt’s son, addressing the media, labeled the case as a pre-planned effort to tarnish his father’s reputation, especially as he was on the brink of a promotion.
Expressing concern over the implications for ordinary citizens, Bhatt’s son questioned the fairness of the situation and emphasized that the matter had been a civil dispute pending in the High Court for the past three years. He called for a CB-CID inquiry into the arrest, alleging a premeditated plot against the IPS officer.
