The Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Saturday arrested a state civil supplies department assistant manager for allegedly amassing assets worth ₹9.41 crore disproportionate to his known sources of income, with their market value estimated at over ₹40 crore, officials said.
An official statement from ACB director general Charu Sinha said that ACB teams on Friday conducted searches at seven places linked to Vasamsetti Narasimha Rao, who is working as an assistant manager (technical) in the state civil supplies department and currently serving as district manager in Mahabubabad district.
“The searches went on till late in the evening. Searches are also being conducted in the properties belonging to the suspected benamis of Narasimha Rao. As per the market value, the assets belonging to him and that of his benamis together are worth nearly ₹100 crore,” a senior official of the ACB privy to the information said.
The case was registered under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Investigators identified several residential buildings, agricultural lands, open plots, vehicles, gold and silver ornaments, and other valuables during the searches.
According to ACB officials, five open plots measuring a total of 1,230.16 square yards were identified at Ballepalli, Raghunathapalem and Velugumatla in Khammam district. The properties, registered in the names of Narasimha Rao and his wife, have a combined registration value of ₹30.72 lakh.
{{/usCountry}}According to ACB officials, five open plots measuring a total of 1,230.16 square yards were identified at Ballepalli, Raghunathapalem and Velugumatla in Khammam district. The properties, registered in the names of Narasimha Rao and his wife, have a combined registration value of ₹30.72 lakh.
{{/usCountry}}The bureau also identified agricultural lands in Suryapet district, including approximately 1.08 acres at Kalmala Chervu, 21.3 acres at Sirikonda and two parcels measuring 5.31 acres each at Namavaram in Mothe mandal.
While the combined registration value of these agricultural properties was recorded at approximately ₹1.17 crore, the ACB found that the agreement values of certain properties were substantially higher.
In particular, the 21.3-acre agricultural property at Sirikonda had a registered value of ₹76 lakh, whereas its agreement value was ₹6.54 crore. Similarly, each of the two agricultural properties at Namavaram had a registered value of ₹19.25 lakh against an agreement value of ₹1.92 crore.
Investigators also identified three residential properties, including a ground-plus-two-storey RCC building and a ground-plus-four-storey RCC building at Kaviraj Nagar in Khammam, besides a three-storey residential property at Sagar Enclave in Bairamalguda, LB Nagar, Hyderabad.
These buildings, standing in the names of the official, his wife and his father-in-law, have a combined documented value of ₹1.58 crore.
Among the movable assets identified were a Hyundai Creta car valued at ₹18.49 lakh, a TVS Jupiter scooter worth ₹1.05 lakh and a Honda Activa scooter valued at ₹50,000.
The ACB also identified household articles valued at ₹33.48 lakh, besides approximately 360.97 grams of gold and 331.58 grams of silver ornaments with a combined estimated value of ₹9.39 lakh. Cash amounting to ₹15,600 was seized from the official’s residence.
The bureau stated that the total value of assets identified so far was approximately ₹9.41 crore, based on its property statement. It said the prevailing market value of the immovable properties could be substantially higher than their recorded registration values.
The ACB is also investigating allegations that Rao acquired a rice mill in the name of another person as benami property. “We are verifying the ownership of the suspected benami asset, the source of investment and the financial transactions involved in its acquisition,” Charu Sinha said.
Officials are also examining his bank accounts and lockers to determine whether he holds additional assets. Transactions linked to certain businesses have also come under scrutiny.
The agency is expected to establish the extent of the alleged disproportionate assets after completing the searches and examining the financial records and property documents.
The ACB director general said further investigation was underway to establish the actual ownership of the identified properties, their sources of acquisition and the funds used to purchase them.
Rao joined the civil supplies department as a technical assistant in 2011 and subsequently worked in Khammam and Nirmal before taking up his present responsibilities in Mahabubabad.
The ACB said its preliminary findings indicated that he had allegedly accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during his 15 years in service.