HYDERABAD: A local court remanded TGREDCO Divisional Engineer M Venkata Ramana to 14 days of judicial custody in a disproportionate assets (DA) case registered by the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
According to the FIR, Venkata Ramana, who joined government service as an Assistant Engineer on August 22, 1992, accumulated assets worth Rs 4.09 crore between August 1992 and July 17, 2026. During the same period, his income from known sources was estimated at Rs 6.90 crore, while his expenditure was pegged at Rs 20.35 crore, resulting in unexplained excess expenditure of Rs 13.45 crore. Officials estimated the total value of disproportionate assets at Rs 17.54 crore.
The FIR stated that several firms, including Mutyam Constructions, Mutyam Builders and Developers, Pride Homes Private Limited, and Mutyam & ASNR Life Spaces Pvt. Ltd., were incorporated in 2006, with his wife, father, and other relatives serving as directors. Through these companies, the family allegedly developed 10 residential apartment complexes and two commercial buildings in Hyderabad’s Moosapet area.
The ACB also referred to an earlier corruption case against the officer. While serving as Divisional Engineer (Technical) in the then TSSPDCL’s Cyber City Circle, Venkata Ramana was caught red-handed in an ACB trap on December 12, 2019, while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 from a complainant. A case was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and a charge sheet was later filed. He remained under suspension from December 2019 until February 2022 before being reinstated and posted to TGREDCO.
On Wednesday, ACB officials conducted simultaneous searches at the officer’s residence and seven other locations, uncovering several movable and immovable assets. These included flats in Serilingampally and Kukatpally valued at Rs 1.23 crore, a G+3 commercial building at Anjaneya Nagar in Kukatpally worth Rs 1.82 crore, and a G+5 commercial building in Serilingampally valued at Rs 2.90 crore. According to ACB sources, the current valuation is based on official records, while the market value of the seized assets may exceed Rs 150 crore.
