VIJAYAWADA: ACB officials on Wednesday unearthed assets worth over Rs 50 crore from Vijayawada GST Commissioner Geddapu Lakshmi Prasad. The tainted official has been arrested and shifted to Visakhapatnam. He will be produced before an ACB Court on Thursday.The sleuths conducted raids at his residence in Vijayawada and 20 other locations across the two Telugu-speaking states. The accused officer was recently promoted as the Commissioner for Vijayawada division when GST came into force in July.
Prasad, who earlier worked as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu’s peshi, requested that he be moved to the Home Department as he was suffering from cancer.
The raids which began around 6 am were conducted at several spots including the houses of his friends in Srikakulam and second wife in Hyderabad. The accused officer currently lives with his first wife who is also suffering from cancer.As per information received from ACB officials, Lakshmi Prasad purchased independent houses, flats, residential plots and dry lands at prime localities in Vijayawada, Guntur, Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Hyderabad.
ACB officials suspect that Prasad must have amassed the wealth by taking bribes from commercial establishments while working as the Deputy Commissioner of Charminar division — Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Kurnool.Seized items include promissory notes worth `1 crore, `32,000, gold ornaments worth `40 lakh, household articles worth `10 lakh and five vehicles worth `20 lakh.