The CBI Special Court, Vijayawada will hear the bail petition filed by all the accused in the Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF)-NAAC bribery case on February 12.
Pointing out that the offence was very serious in nature, the investigating officers said that the accused may tamper with the evidence and influence the witnesses if they were granted bail. They urged the court to dismiss the bail petition.
Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh High Court directed the CBI not to take any coercive steps against Koneru Satyanarayana, president of Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF), for two weeks.
The CBI officers who busted the bribery case allegedly involving Guntur-based KLEF and NAAC Inspection Committee arrested ten accused on February 1 and the latter have been in judicial custody since then.
After an anticipatory bail petition filed by Mr. Satyanarayana, who has been named the accused number 1 in the case, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on February 6 directed the police not to take any coercive steps for two weeks and posted the further hearing to February 13.
KLEF vice-chancellor G.P. Saradhi Varma, university vice-president Koneru Raja Hareen, KLU Hyderabad campus director A. Ramakrishna, former deputy advisor, NAAC, L. Manjunatha Rao, Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC-NAAC) director M. Hanumanthappa, chairman Samarendra Nath Saha, member coordinator Rajeev Sijariya, and committee members D. Gopal, Rajesh Singh Pawar, Manas Kumar Mishra, Gayatri Devaraja and Bulu Maharana were among those arrested in the case so far.
KLEF, a deemed to be university, located at Vaddeswaram in Guntur district, was accredited by NAAC with A++ Grade. The office bearers of the university allegedly offered cash, electronic equipment and gold ornaments for securing the re-accreditation by the NAAC for the period 2024 to 2029.
The inspection committee of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) allegedly colluded with the KLEF management to award full marks to get A++ grade for five years, the CBI officers alleged.
Published - February 12, 2025 08:46 am IST
