Hyderabad: Famous Chandana Brothers Textiles and Jewellers' director Jana Rama Rao was arrested by the Hyderabad police on Wednesday for forging documents and filing a false complaint against a former minister's son.

Rama Rao has been in a legal battle with Kanna Phaneendra, the son of former minister Kanna Laxminarayana, and had lodged a criminal complaint alleging that he had threatened to kill him. As evidence, he had submitted a letter allegedly sent to him by Phaneendra by post. The police found that the letter was written by Rama Rao himself and the signature of his opponent was forged.

According to SR Nagar police inspector Md. Waheeduddin, Rama Rao had lodged a complaint against Phaneendra, seeking a case against him for criminal intimidation. "He produced a letter posted from Guntur to his address. He claimed that the letter was written by Phaneendra, who threatened to harm him," said the Inspector.

During investigation, police found that the letter was written by Rama Rao or his men and was posted in Phaneendra's name. "Technical evidence suggested that it was Rama Rao’s handiwork. He was trying to press false charges against his business rival," said the Inspector.

Rama Rao and Phaneendra had a business dispute regarding a venture called Balaji Art Prints. "They had filed civil suits against each other in courts and had sent several legal notices to each other. Amidst this dispute, Rama Rao tried to lodge the criminal case against his rival with the fake letter, sources said.

Following an inquiry, the police booked a case against Rama Rao and arrested him. "We arrested him on charges of forgery and cheating. He was produced before court as per the procedure," said the inspector.