CHENNAI: The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has booked an ex-serviceman who joined the TN Highways department and allegedly amassed Rs 93 lakh worth of wealth, disproportionate to his known sources of income, within a span of six years. The accused has been identified as K Ranjith Kumar, an ex-serviceman, who joined the State highways department over a decade ago. The DVAC officials said that Ranjith Kumar joined the government department as a Road Inspector in Chennai.
According to the DVAC officials, Ranjith Kumar is attached to the office of the Assistant Engineer (AE) in the Highways Wing of the Anaicut Section, Vaniyambadi Division, which functions under Chennai Circle. The FIR registered by the DVAC said that Ranjith Kumar joined service in February 2011 on the ex-serviceman quota, after retiring from defence services in December 2009.
While the DVAC officials did not comment on how Ranjith Kumar amassed the wealth, a source said Ranjith Kumar illegally acquired assets. He had registered the amassed properties in the name of his wife, his mother, and his father throughout the state. Most of the activities of hoarding the properties happened between April 2014 and July 2020, said the DVAC officials who focused on this check period to assess his income.
Interestingly, during the beginning of April 2014, Ranjith Kumar’s value of wealth was Rs 8 lakh and total value of his assets were Rs 48.7 lakh at the end of the check period, which is a 272 per cent increase. The DVAC, taking into account his monthly salary, lavish expenditure, and savings, estimated that Ranjith Kumar must have amassed disproportionate assets of over Rs 93.18 lakh. The DVAC has booked a case against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act and launched a hunt.