The Hyderabad Police on Sunday registered a criminal case against actor Daggubati Venkatesh and his family members for allegedly illegally demolishing a hotel last year, despite a pending injunction from a City Civil Court and order to maintain status quo from the Telangana high court.
Besides Daggubati Venkatesh, his brother and producer Daggubati Suresh, Suresh’s son and actor Daggubati Rana and, Rana’s brother and producer Daggubati Abhiram have been charged under sections 448, 452, 458, and 120B – trespass and criminal conspiracy – of the Indian Penal Code, police sources said.
There was no immediate comment from actor Daggubati Venkatesh or the remaining accused at the time of filing this report.
The case pertains to the demolition of the Deccan Kitchen Hotel in Film Nagar, allegedly by the actor and his family in January last year. Sources said the property was owned by the Daggubati family, but leased to a man named Nanda Kumar, who is an accused in the alleged poaching of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now known as Bharat Rashtra Samithi) MLAs in 2022.
In November 2022, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) razed a portion of the hotel and adjoining structures constructed by Mr Kumar, alleging that they were unauthorised.
In July 2023, the High Court sought an explanation from the GHMC officials on the demolition and ordered it to maintain status quo.
The Daggubati family, however, reportedly completely demolished the structure in January last year, prompting Mr Kumar to approach Nampally Court for violation of court orders.
In the court, Mr Kumar claimed that he suffered a loss of Rs 20 crore due to the demolition. The court then ordered the police to investigate the matter.
The court had ordered the police to investigate the matter.
As the proceedings continued on Saturday, the court directed the police to register an FIR against the accused.
