HYDERABAD: The unabated corruption at integrated checkposts was exposed once again when Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials, in raids on three chckposts on the State’s borders today, seized more than Rs 1.40 lakh from unathorised agents engaged by the government staff to collect bribes. Another surprise check was conducted on the sub-registrar’s office in Visakhapatnam.
A total of Rs 1.88 lakh was seized in these checks and several irregularities were found in the functioning of those offices.
In the first surprise check, ACB officials swooped on the integrated checkpost at Purushothapuram in Srikakulam district at 3 am. ACB officials found 10 unathorised agents engaged by the checkpost staff to collect bribe and seized Rs 7,582 from them.
Two unauthorised data entry operators were also working in the checkpost and Rs 408 recovered from them, an official release said.
Even as the ACB officials were conducting the check, Rs 32,895 was voluntarily given by vehicle drivers to the checkpost officials.
The ACB officials seized the attendance register of the transport department, personal cash of marketing committee department, duty charts of transport, commercial tax and marketing departments for further verification.
At 5 am, a surprise check was conducted on the integrated checkpost at BV Palem in Tada mandal in Nellore district. ACB officials seized Rs 88,120 unaccounted money from the checkpost officials and private agents.
At the checkpost at Naraharipeta in Gudipala mandal in Chittoor district, Rs 5,040 was seized from commercial tax officials. Another Rs 6,365, thrown away at various places of the checkpost by officials fearing arrest by ACB officials, was also seized.
Meanwhile, a surprise check was conducted on the sub-registrar’s of fice at Bheemunipatnam in Visakhapatnam district late last night.
Ten unauthorised document writers/private agents were found on the office premises and they were in possession of Rs 48,040 unaccounted money.
The money was collected as bribe from the public who came to the office on various works. The attendance register and Account-A of the subregistrar’s office were seized for further verification.
In a related development, ACB officials trapped the assistant registrar-cum-sub divisional cooperative officer P Uma Shankar at Morampudi junction in Rajahmundry in East Godavari district when he took Rs 5,000 from a retired cooperative secretary of Chelluru PACS, B Surya Prakash Rao, to help him write a favourable report and drop the attachment order issued in the name of the latter’s wife.
Uma Shankar would be arrested and produced before a special court for ACB cases in Vijayawada, the release said.