VIJAYAWADA: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths caught the Engineer-In-Chief (EIC) of the Tribal Welfare Department, Sabbavarapu Srinivas, red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 25 lakh from a contractor in exchange for an official favor on Thursday.
According to ACB officials, Srinivas has two previously registered cases against him under corruption charges. The complainant, Chekuri Krishnamraju, Managing Partner of Sri Satya Sai Constructions, Visakhapatnam, had been executing contract works related to the Tribal Welfare Department.
A certain amount was pending from the government in connection with deviation contract works undertaken at various locations in the state, particularly in the districts of Alluri Sitaramaraju, Parvathipuram Manyam, and Srikakulam.
The tainted officer, Srinivas, reportedly demanded a bribe of Rs 5 crores from the contractor to sanction the deviation contract works.
When the contractor expressed his unwillingness to pay, the officer asked him to pay Rs 25 lakhs initially. Unwilling to pay the demanded bribe, the contractor complained to the ACB officials in Vijayawada.
Based on the complaint, the ACB officials registered a case against Srinivas and caught him red-handed while accepting the bribe amount at his office.
During the investigation, it was noticed that Srinivas had several allegations of corruption in the past while serving as an Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) in Visakhapatnam. It was also found that he had amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
ENC to be produced in court today
In 2001, the Visakhapatnam ACB unit registered a case against him, and departmental proceedings are currently underway in connection with that case.
Similarly, there were numerous allegations against him while serving as an Executive Engineer (EE) in Seethampeta, Srikakulam district.
He allegedly demanded a bribe through a junior assistant in his office for clearing the pending bills of a contra-ctor.
The ACB has received several other complaints regarding Srinivas’s corrupt practices. Srinivas will be produced before the ACB Court in Vijayawada on Friday.
Citizens are requested to report any instance of corruption in any state government office by lodging a complaint with the local ACB office or contacting the ACB through the toll-free number 1064 or WhatsApp 9440440057.