The Nalgonda district unit of Telangana’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) laid a trap and seized “disproportionate assets” worth ₹4.5 crore from the Hyderabad property of Manchireddy Mahender Reddy, the mandal revenue officer (MRO) of Marriguda.
The trap was laid at Reddy’s property in the BN Reddy Nagar area of the city on Saturday, 30 September.
The ACB’s Central Investigation Unit (CIU) conducted the raid and examined the records. According to sources South First spoke to, the raids went on for nearly eight hours, from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm.
Reddy took charge of the Marriguda mandal revenue office only a month ago — in August — from the Hyderabad head office.
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Disproportionate assets
The ACB personnel could be seen opening medium-sized iron trunks using a cutting machine in the videos being shared on X (formerly Twitter).
When the boxes were opened, multiple bundles of ₹500-denomination currency notes were found inside.
“Cash worth more than ₹2 crore was found. The remaining is a few kilograms of gold and documents of several properties. He has been accused of having disproportionate assets,” MV Srinivasa Rao, Deputy Superintendent of Police of the ACB’s Nalagonda range, told South First.
Disproportionate assets usually mean that the value of an individual’s total properties significantly surpasses the assets they should possess after accounting for all their legal sources of income.
The ACB has booked a case against Reddy under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1998.
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At least 7 govt officials caught this year
Reddy was hardly the first government official to be apprehended under corruption charges this year.
On 6 September, the ACB sleuths arrested a multi-purpose health extension officer (MPHEO) for demanding a bribe of ₹15,000 to approve the file of a physiotherapist who had applied for a certificate to run his new clinic.
Mohammed Faheem Pasha, who demanded the bribe at the district medical and health officer’s (DM&HO) office in Medak, was caught red-handed when he was receiving the bribe at Dharani Photo Studio.
On 12 July, inspector K Janaki of the Peerzadiguda Municipal Corporation in the Medchal-Malkajgiri district and her subordinate were caught red-handed by the ACB while demanding and accepting a bribe.
As per the ACB officials, Janaki demanded a ₹20,000 bribe through her junior R Saroja, who works as an office subordinate in the Outsourcing Department.
The municipal inspector demanded cash from complainant Sriramulu in exchange for processing bills and handing over the cheques.
Peerzadiguda muncipal corporation sanitary Inspector K. #Janaki caught red handed by #ACB while accepting 20k #bribe at her office through one outsourcing employee by name saroja from the complainant. #Telangana pic.twitter.com/ht36p3Xfst
— Arbaaz The Great (@ArbaazTheGreat1) July 12, 2023
On 17 June the ACB had arrested the Telangana University Vice-Chancellor (VC) Dachepalli Ravinder on charges of corruption.
The ACB caught the V-C red-handed while he was accepting a bribe from the promoter of an educational institution.
On 13 June, the ACB sleuths nabbed three people — a superintendent, an accounts officer, and an accountant — working at the DM&HO in the act of accepting a bribe of ₹10,000 from a CCTV technician for sanctioning the renting of a vehicle.
