Raj cops stopped from entering Haryana hotels hosting dissident MLAs

A team of Rajasthan police's Anti-Corruption Bureau was on Friday not allowed to enter three hotels in Haryana's Gurgaon and Manesar when they went there to serve notices to two Rajasthan Congress MLAs in a corruption case, a senior official said.

The ACB had issued notices to MLAs Bhanwarlal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh, who have been suspended from the party for alleged involvement in a conspiracy to topple the Ashok Gehlot-led government, to appear for investigation, but they failed to do so.

An ACB team, headed by Deputy SP Saleh Mohammad, then went to deliver them the notices at the three hotels in Gurgaon and Manesar where they are said to be staying along with other dissidents including former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot.

"We reached the hotels in search of the MLAs so that the notices issued by the investigating officer be delivered. Authorities in two hotels gave us in writing that they were not staying there, while authorities at another hotel said it is closed," Mohammad said.

The ACB team was not allowed to go inside the hotels, he said.

The ACB had registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act on complaint by chief whip Mahesh Joshi on July 17 after three audio clips containing conversation with regards to the alleged conspiracy to topple the Gehlot government surfaced.

The ACB had issued the notices to the MLAs in the case.

Along with the ACB, the Special Operations Group of the Rajasthan police has also registered two cases in connection with the audio tapes.

The SOG is also trying to locate the MLAs.