Plea alleges illegal ED detention

Justice E.V. Venugopal of the Telangana High Court has directed the State to respond to a writ petition alleging illegal detention and physical assault of a businessman by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials.

The judge was hearing a petition filed by Mangalampalli Manikanta, who sought an independent investigation into the alleged misconduct of ED officials and compensation for the violation of his fundamental rights.

The petitioner alleged that he was detained for nearly 10 hours on October 26 at the ED office in Shakar Bhawan, Basheerbagh, Hyderabad, despite there being no valid summons requiring his appearance that day. He further alleged that officials physically assaulted him and forced him to sign a statement prepared at the instance and in the presence of a private individual.

He contended that his financial transactions with the family of a former minister were limited to a legitimate property sale, but ED officials allegedly attempted to link them to the liquor scam.

The petitioner sought a declaration that the statement obtained on October 26 was invalid and could not be used in the ongoing investigation or related proceedings.

He also requested the preservation and production of CCTV footage from the ED office between 11 am and 11 pm on the day, along with visitor registers, entry and exit records, duty rosters and relevant call detail records.

Questioning the presence of a private individual during his examination, he said he had lodged a complaint with Saifabad police on October 27. He sought registration of an FIR against the officials and an independent investigation under High Court supervision.