VIJAYAWADA: Sleuths of Anti-Corruption Bureau swooped down on the residences, offices and other properties of five government officials across the State on Tuesday and unearthed disproportionate assets worth several crores of Rupees. ACB put the market value of the disproportionate assets unearthed during the raids at Rs 100 crore. As many as 25 ACB teams carried out simultaneous raids in Kakinada, Kurnool, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam.
Director General of ACB PSR Anjaneyulu said raids were conducted on Lanka Raghu Babu (Chief Executive Officer of Society for Training and Employment Promotion, Kakinada), Gandham Venkata Pallam Raju (Superintending Engineer of Kakinada Municipal Corporation), Sakhe Satyam (Revenue Divisional Officer, PA to Special Collector for Srisailam Project, Kurnool), Tutika Mohan Rao (Deputy Executive Engineer, Tribal Welfare, Bhadragiri sub-division, Vizianagaram) and Seeramreddi Govindu (clerk, Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society (PACS), Visakhapatnam).
The raids started with the ACB sleuths swooping on the residence and other properties of Raghu Babu in Kakinada around 6 am.Raghu Babu, who joined the government service as a typist, went on to become a tahsildar in 2002 and deputy collector in 2012.
In the searches, the ACB sleuths found that he is in possession of 11 properties (on his name and family members) apart from Rs 8.35 lakh cash, Rs 15.8 lakh worth gold ornaments, Rs 48,500 worth silver ornaments, Rs 3.1 lakh bank balance, Rs 20 lakh fixed deposits and Rs 2 lakh worth promissory notes.
The ACB sleuths also raided the house of Venkata Pallam Raju, SE of KMC, and found that 13 properties were registered in his family members names. He started his career as an assistant executive engineer in the Public Health Department in 1993 and subsequently promoted as deputy executive engineer and later as an SE. Pallam Raju purchased prime properties in 2005 and 2015 on his relative’s name. ACB officials seized Rs 27 lakh worth gold ornaments, Rs 26.2 lakh FDRs, Rs 10.4 lakh bank balance and Rs 75,980 cash.
Meanwhile, ACB officials conducted searches in the residence of Satyam, RDO and PA to Special Collector for Srisailam Project, in Kurnool and found disproportionate assets worth Rs 8 crore (market value).
In another raid, ACB officials found disproportionate assets worth around Rs 10 crore belonging to tribal welfare deputy executive engineer Mohan Rao. Three teams raided his house and relatives’ houses in Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam simultaneously. From his residence, Rs 18.5 lakh worth gold and silver ornaments, Rs 7.8 lakh cash and Rs 31.4 lakh bank accounts were seized.
In a raid on the properties of Govindu, a clerk in PACS, Vizag branch, assets worth more than Rs 20 crore were found. Started his career as a watchman taking less than Rs 50 per month in 1994, he is now working as a clerk in the same branch. All the five accused were arrested and they will be produced in ACB special court.
