HYDERABAD: In yet another big catch, a Village Revenue Officer (VRO) in Rangareddy district was found with disproportionate assets worth more than Rs 1 crore in searches conducted by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials on Tuesday.
ACB sleuths said the revenue official struck gold while serving in the Sherlingampally mandal, which witnessed a real estate boom in the past.
Commercial complexes in Madhapur, houses in and around Mehdipatnam and nearly 50 acre agricultural land apart from gold and vehicles were recovered from the VRO. Syed Ghouse Ahmed Qadri is the VRO of Khanammet village in Sherilingampally mandal.
“Qadri earlier worked as the ‘patwari’ of Khanammet and was VRO of the village since 1992,’’ ACB Hyderabad range deputy superintendent of police N Chandrasekhar said.
On information, ACB officials conducted searches on Qadri’s residence at flat no 301, Padmini Colony in Toli Chowki and also on residences of his relatives in the city and Rangareddy district and unearthed the assets.
Qadri was found in possession of four houses (one each at Asif Nagar, Toli Chowki, Darga and OU Colony), two shopping complexes at Madhapur, 48 acre agricultural land at Kollor in Aleru mandal of Nalgonda, 18 acre at Podur near Vikarabad and four acre at Khanammet.
Qadri claimed that he had constructed the two commercial complexes several years back when value of the land was just Rs 100 per square yard. “He gets nearly Rs 1 lakh rent every month from the 12 shops in the complex alone,’’ officials said. Other assets include more than one kg gold ornaments worth Rs 8.47 lakh, two cars, a Maruti and a Zen, a two-wheeler, Rs 45,000 cash and household articles worth Rs 3.17 lakh.
Meanwhile, ACB sleuths also nabbed the technical officer (works) in Miyapur section of the Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB), division 15, Mohd Jahangir, late on Monday night. He was caught for taking Rs 2,000 from Mohd Rahim, a lecturer in Chanchalguda Government Junior College, to sanction a water connection to the latter’s house.
ACB officials seized the file pertaining to sanction of water connection from the house of Jahangir at Vemkuna in Miyapur. Several other documents were seized apart from wads of currency worth Rs 4 lakh, an official release said. Jahangir was arrested and produced before a special court for ACB cases in Hyderabad.