HYDERABAD: Incarcerated Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) of the irrigation department Herur Nikesh Kumar has been sent to judicial remand till November 13 in a case of Disproportionate Assets (DA). The development unfolded after ACB officials produced him at a special judge’s residence on Sunday.
The case is said to be the second biggest catch by the ACB after the apprehension of former director of Insurance Medical Services (IMS) Ch Devika Rani in 2019 and HMDA Director (Town Planning) Shiva Balakrishna earlier this year. While DA worth Rs 30 crore (government value) were seized from Devika, unregistered properties worth Rs 9 crore (government value) were seized from Balakrishna. The market value of the seized properties ran into hundreds of crores.
On Saturday, the officials unearthed the alleged DA worth Rs 17.73 crore (government value) from Nikesh Kumar during the searches conducted at 23 locations, including his residence in PBEL City in Gandhipet. However, the assets are estimated to be worth over Rs 100 crore.
“Like in Moinabad, he registered two acres of land for Rs 16 lakh but the market value of the land is Rs 3.6 crore. It is impossible to purchase such highly valued land for Rs 16 lakh,” the sources said.
An official source told TNIE that Kumar was sent to Chanchalguda jail and searches pertainig to his bank accounts will continue on Monday. “Apart from several properties, one locker has been identified so far in the SBI. He also made investments worth several dollars were also done in an online trading company and he made regular foreign visits,” he said.
Bribe fixed for NOCs
A major chunk of Nikesh Kumar’s illegal wealth came via issuing No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to applicants who sought building permissions for construction through the TG-bPASS portal. He started the service in 2013 and since 2021 his jurisdiction has been Gandipet.
“Most of the applicants, who applied for NOC, were from real estate companies. Applicants have to take NOC from the departments of Revenue, Irrigation and HMDA for the construction to be done near a water body to see if there is a breach or not,” the source said.
He added “The HMDA forwards the application to the Irrigation department, which deploys a team for ground survey to ascertain whether the structure falls within FTl and buffer zone. Irrigation department AE gives ground reports to DE and AEE. So, we believe this is where he (Kumar) got the scope of correction and amassed an amount.”
It is understood Nikesh Kumar had been following a fixed pattern of taking bribes depending on the properties’ area for which NOCs were sought. In May this year, he was arrested for accepting Rs 1 lakh bribe for providing one such NOC for a 270 sq yards property.
“For an NOC for a property falling between 300 and 500 sq yards area, the accused used to charge a fixed amount of Rs 4 lakh. For land between 500 sq yards and two acres, he would charge Rs 50 lakh. NOC for more than two acres depended on land size and its market value. In May, he demanded Rs 2.5 lakh from the usual Rs 4 lakh as it was a 270 sq yards property,” the source further said and added that he would also give a share of the bribes to seniors.
Villas, farmhouses and online trading
Nikesh Kumar owned three farmhouses in Tolkatta, Nakalpally and Sajjanpally, all in Moinabad mandal. He also owned two villas worth Rs 2.5 cr each in Bliss Weekend Homes, Siddapur and 6.5 acres of land in Moinabad.
His properties in Gachibowli, Nanakramguda, Narsingi, Tandur and other places were also raided. The authorities are trying to find out whether the accused also owned properties outside the state and country.
“With the investments of crores in real estate companies, he also invested Rs 3.5 crore through two benamis, including one in real estate, and invested Rs 75 lakh in a relative’s name,” the source said.
Several benami properties were also found to be in the name of relatives and college friends, most of whom were financially weak. “In one instance, he (Kumar) had invested Rs 75 lakh in a relative’s name (a woman working as a sanitation worker) whose monthly income is Rs 18,000 and stays in a 2 BHK govt house allotted earlier. How can she make such a huge investment when her financial status comes under BPL?,” said the source.