Telangana High Court Seeks ED Response Over Custodial Torture Allegations

Court Intervention in ED Probe

The Telangana High Court has officially requested responses from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the local police regarding a petition alleging illegal detention and physical abuse. The petition was filed by Mangalampalli Naga Sai Manikanta, who claims he was subjected to mistreatment during a probe into an alleged Andhra Pradesh liquor transportation scam.

Justice EV Venugopal has ordered both the ED and the police to submit their counter-affidavits, with the next hearing scheduled for November 27.

Allegations of Coercion

In his petition, Manikanta alleges the following events took place at the ED’s Hyderabad office on October 26:

• Unauthorized Detention: He claims he was held for approximately 10 hours despite being summoned as a witness rather than an accused party.
• Physical Assault: The petitioner alleges officials twisted his fingers, pulled his ears, and pushed him against a wall.
• Third-Party Interference: Manikanta claims that a businessman named Vallu Sandeep, who is reportedly involved in a land dispute with the petitioner’s family, was allowed into the interrogation room to pressure him into making false statements.
• Forced Confession: The petitioner states he was compelled to sign a pre-prepared statement under duress without being permitted to review its contents. He has since retracted this document.

Legal Stance and Requests

Manikanta has requested an independent, court-monitored investigation and the preservation of CCTV records from the ED office. Additionally, he has approached the Saifabad police to register an FIR against the officers involved.

Representing the ED, counsel Zoheb Hossain contested the petition’s maintainability. He argued that allegations against public servants should be addressed before the jurisdictional magistrate in accordance with legal precedents, urging the court to dismiss the case at the threshold.