VIJAYAWADA: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths on Monday unearthed disproportionate assets worth more than Rs 500 crore from AP Town and Country Planning director Golla Venkata Raghu and his benami Nalluri Sivaprasad after raids in 23 different locations across the state on Monday. Property documents worth more than Rs 50 crore, Rs 50 lakh in cash and gold and diamond jewellery worth approximately Rs 10 crore were among the seized items.Sivaprasad works as a junior technical officer in the engineering department of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC). His wife Gayathri took voluntary retirement from the post of assistant engineer two years ago.
ACB officials were acting on a tip off that the AP Town and Country Planning director had amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income during his tenure as city planner in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.The searches began in the wee hours of Monday at 23 places, included the houses of Venkata Raghu and his benami at Mangalagiri, locations in Vijayawada, Shirdi, Nellore, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam and Rajanagaram of East Godavari district among others.
Several raided spots belonged to the relatives, close associates and colleagues of Venkata Raghu.ACB director general RP Thakur told reporters later in the day that the crackdown was a big catch. The main accused was allegedly involved in several irregularities back in 2009 and had received huge sums of money in the form of illegal gratification from contractors and real-estate builders.
With the money he purchased properties in various places in the state and built a hotel in Shirdi. Thakur said Raghu trusted Sivaprasad as the latter had worked under him in 2007 in Vijayawada. Venkata Raghu allegedly registered properties in his name as well.
“Assets worth Rs 4 crore were seized from Venkata Raghu’s residence in Gannavaram and his relatives’ houses. At Sivaprasad’s house, we found eight kilograms of gold and 23 kilograms of silver hidden in a washing machine and other uncanny places,” said director general RP Thakur.He added that the accused had been taken into custody and would be produced in an Anti-Corruption Bureau Special Court. The tainted director of AP Town and Country Planning department was twice on the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s suspect list while working as a city planner in Vijayawada in 2003 and Visakhapatnam in 2005. That’s when the friendship between Raghu and Sivaprasad blossomed.
Not so fast, Mr Crook!
Director of Town and Country Planning Golla Venkata Raghu’s dreams of going abroad were shattered when the ACB raided his properties on Monday. Raghu had planned to celebrate his retirement in Singapore. The official, who had just a month left to bid adieu to his job, had reportedly booked tickets for his family members, relatives and close friends to Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong