The Telangana anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on Thursday registered a case against Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and legislator KT Rama Rao in connection with alleged financial irregularities to the tune of around ₹55 crore for conducting Formula-E race in Hyderabad during the previous regime, officers said.
KTR, as the former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s son is popularly known, was booked under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), officers said.
The first information report (FIR), seen by HT, named KTR as prime accused (A-1), while senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar and retired chief engineer of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) BLN Reddy as accused A-2 and A-3, respectively.
According to officers, the previous BRS government entered into a tripartite agreement with UK-based Formula-E Operations Ltd (FEO) and Ace Nxt Gen Private Limited, the sponsor of the event in Hyderabad, for conducting Formula E races for seasons 9, 10, 11 and 12 in the capital city of Telangana. Season 9 of the Hyderabad E-Prix was conducted on February 11 last year.
Formula E had announced the cancellation of Season 10 race, slated to be held on February 10 this year, alleging a contract breach by the new Telangana government.
{{/usCountry}}Formula E had announced the cancellation of Season 10 race, slated to be held on February 10 this year, alleging a contract breach by the new Telangana government.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier this year, the Congress government had sought an explanation from Arvind Kumar over signing an agreement concerning the Formula-E race allegedly without the approval of the competent authority and also making a payment of ₹55 crore with majority of it in foreign currency.
The FIR alleged that the agreement between the state government and the race organisers was made without the approval of the cabinet and also that it was done during the model code of conduct was in force.
The Congress government had written to governor Jishnu Dev Varma in November, seeking permission to register an FIR against KTR, which was granted recently.
Reacting to the development, KTR demanded that the Congress government should discuss the issue on the floor of the assembly. “If chief minister A Revanth Reddy has any sincerity, he should initiate a discussion on Formula-E race issue in the assembly. I shall put the records straight and explain the facts,” the BRS leader said.