Actor Prakash Raj appears before ED in H'bad in online betting case, says cooperated with officials
Hyderabad, Jul 30 (PTI): Actor Prakash Raj on Wednesday appeared before the ED officials here for questioning in a money laundering case linked to illegal online betting and gambling by certain platforms.
The actor, popular in Telugu, Kannada and other South Indian films, appeared before officials of the probe agency at its zonal office here.
Raj, who was questioned for about four hours, said he did the assignment with the apps in 2016, but did not take any money for it on moral grounds. He also said he had discontinued promoting the apps.
"I gave them information that I had not received any money (for the promotion). Because I did not want to take any money for that. They (ED officials) have taken all the details," he told reporters.
Asked if the investigation is politically motivated, he replied in the negative.
"Officers are doing their job. As a citizen, I am supposed to cooperate and answer their questions. There is no witch-hunting or political motivation in this," he said.
Raj added that he has not been asked to appear again for questioning.
Besides Raj, the ED had also summoned actors Rana Daggubati, Vijay Deverakonda and Lakshmi Manchu for questioning in the case.
The agency asked Daggubati (40) to appear before the zonal office here on July 23, Raj (60) on July 30, Deverakonda (36) on August 6 and Lakshmi (47) on August 13.
The actors had "endorsed" online betting apps allegedly involved in generating "illicit" funds, official sources had said.
However, the ED gave a fresh date of August 11 to actor Daggubati after he failed to appear on July 23, seeking deferment of the summons.
The ED had taken cognisance of as many as five state police FIRs to register its case against these actors and a number of other celebrities and social media influencers.
These individuals are suspected to have "endorsed" online betting apps like Junglee Rummy, JeetWin, Lotus365, etc, for celebrity or endorsement fee, ED sources had said.
These platforms are alleged to have generated "illicit" funds, through illegal betting and gambling, worth crores of rupees, the sources had said.
Some of these "well-known" persons, the sources said, have earlier stated that they did not know the exact functioning of the apps and products dished out by them and claimed that they did not associate themselves with these platforms for any wrongdoing or illegal activity like betting.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Owaisi targets Congress over UAPA, denial of bail to Khalid and Imam
Amravati (Maharashtra) (PTI): AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has blamed Congress for activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam not getting bail, saying the stringent UAPA under which they have been booked was enacted during a Congress government.
The Hyderabad MP was speaking at a public meeting in the Chandni Chowk area of Amravati in Maharashtra on Saturday ahead of January 15 civic elections.
The people who talk of secularism during elections are in fact enemies of Muslims, Dalits and tribals as they use political secularism to gain votes, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) said.
Both Khalid and Imam were denied bail by the Supreme Court in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case on the basis of Section 15A of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, he said.
It was then home minister P Chidambaram who introduced the UAPA (during the Congress-led regime), Owaisi said, adding that he was the only one who objected to it in Parliament.
"I was the only one who had said that this law would be used by police against Muslims, tribals, Dalits and those intellectuals who understand and oppose the government's policies. You can see what happened today, these two children could not get bail because of the definition of terrorism in that law," he said.
While Khalid and Imam are languishing in jail for five years, 85-year-old Stan Swamy -- an accused in the Elgar Parishad case -- died in jail because of this law, Owaisi added.
The Congress supported the BJP government when UAPA was amended in 2019, which is now destroying innocent lives, he further said.
The Supreme Court on January 5 refused bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case but granted it to five others, citing “hierarchy of participation”.
