VELLORE, HYDERABAD: Two days after sealing the houses of sand mining baron Sekar Reddy, the sleuths of the Income Tax Department opened the seal and raided the houses on Saturday.
On Thursday, acting on a secret tip-off on unaccounted cash with the businessman involved in sand quarry business, official team led by Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax for Vellore region Muruga Boopathy raided Reddy’s houses at Gandhi Nagar in Katpadi. As no family members were present, the officials sealed the houses.
On Saturday, in the presence of Reddy’s family members, officials have searched the houses. Earlier, on Friday officials seized Rs 24 crore from Sekar Reddy’s car in Thondan Thulai village.
Meanwhile, the postal scam probe in Hyderabad has hit a new development. While inquiring into the postal scam allegedly carried out by Indian Postal Service (IPoS) officer K Sudheer Babu, the sleuths of Central Bureau of Investigation unearthed Rs 65.66 lakh, all in newly released currency notes. The worth of the scam has just gone up to Rs 3.75 crore with the fresh seizure.
Babu, senior superintendent of post offices, Hyderabad city division, and officer of 2011-batch, was arrested for his role in fraud in postal offices after demonetisation, on Friday. Apart from three cases already registered, CBI tagged a fresh case against him on Saturday. So far, the CBI officials have seized Rs 92.68 lakh of new currency notes in Rs 2,000 denomination, in these cases.
Investigation has revealed that Rs 3.75 crore was misappropriated by Sudheer Babu fraudulently by exchanging old currencies for new currencies from the post offices falling under his division.
On Saturday, a day after his arrest, the CBI Hyderabad unit officials carried out raids at the residences of Sudheer Babu’s relatives located in Ibrahimpatnam and seized Rs 65.66 lakh cash of all new currency notes.
During investigation, Sudheer confessed to his offence in connection with the fraud that took place in post offices in the city. Based on the confessional statement, the CBI officials seized the cash.
Sudheer safely kept his commission amount at his relative’s house located at the outskirts of Hyderabad. CBI officials acted swiftly and seized Rs 65.66 lakh cash all new currency in the denomination of Rs 2,000, officials said.
The four cases against the Indian Postal Service officer, K Sudheer Babu, was registered by the CBI based on the complaint forwarded to them by the vigilance wing of postal department.