Published Jun 16, 2025 | 10:50 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 16, 2025 | 10:50 AM
KTR appears before ACB for questioning. (Supplied)
Synopsis: BRS leader KT Rama Rao appeared before the Telangana ACB for the second time on 16 June over alleged financial irregularities in organizing the Formula E race. KTR’s appearance on Monday is expected to involve detailed questioning by a three-member ACB team regarding the financial transactions and decision-making processes behind the Formula E event.
BRS working president and former minister KT Rama Rao appeared before the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) at around 10AM on Monday, 16 June, in connection with the ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities in organizing the Formula E race in Hyderabad when the BRS was in power.
Anticipating a large crowd, the police fortified the ACB office in Banjara Hills with additional forces to ensure secure proceedings. Barricades were set up along key access routes, and traffic diversions were enforced on Road No. 12 and surrounding areas.
Earlier in the morning, KTR held a brief meeting with senior BRS leaders, including T Harish Rao and Balka Suman, with whom he discussed the ongoing legal proceedings. Later, he drove to Nandinagar, where he discussed his case with BRS supremo and his father, K Chandrashekar Rao.
Afterward, he proceeded to Telangana Bhavan before heading to the ACB office in a convoy, accompanied by his legal team and a few party leaders, with a heavy police escort.
Before leaving for the ACB office, KTR stated that he might even be arrested but it would not scare him. “We will continue to question the government on its lapses,” he said, adding that he would appear before the ACB any number of times if called, as he is a law-abiding citizen.
“I am ready to appear not once but even 30 times,” he declared, launching a broadside against Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. He also said that going to jail would not deter him, recalling his imprisonment during the peak of the Telangana movement.
KTR’s appearance on Monday is expected to involve detailed questioning by a three-member ACB team regarding the financial transactions and decision-making processes behind the Formula E event. His legal counsel is present to ensure compliance with the High Court’s directives.
Outside the ACB office, a few hundred BRS supporters gathered, holding placards and raising slogans in support of KTR. Police ensured they remained at a distance to avoid incidents like the unauthorized rally on 9 January 2025 when he appeared for the first time before the ACB.
The Formula E case centres on allegations of financial mismanagement and procedural violations during preparations for the second edition of the Formula E race in Hyderabad, scheduled for February 2024 but was cancelled following the change of government in December 2023.
The first edition was held in February 2023 when KTR served as the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Minister under the BRS government.
The ACB registered a First Information Report (FIR) on 19 December, 2024, against KTR, senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar, and former Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) chief engineer BLN Reddy.
The FIR was filed under Sections 13(1)(A) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Sections 409 and 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code. The allegations state that HMDA transferred approximately ₹55 crore to Formula E Operations Limited (FEO) in the UK without requisite approvals from the state cabinet, finance department, or the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Key allegations against KTR include issuing verbal instructions that led to the transfer of ₹54.88 crore in two installments ( 3 and 11 October, 2023) to FEO’s UK account, incurring an additional ₹8.6 crore in income tax liability for HMDA.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also initiated a parallel probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
KTR has consistently denied the allegations, maintaining that the transactions were transparent and aimed at elevating Hyderabad’s global profile.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
