No escape for corrupt officials, warns ACB DG Anand

HYDERABAD: Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director General CV Anand has issued a stern warning to corrupt officials, stating that no amount of precaution can shield them from the long arm of the law. His statement came after a high-profile corruption case involving a Joint Collector and a Senior Assistant from the Rangareddy district.

In a tweet shared on his official account, Anand detailed the operation that led to the arrest of MV Bhupal Reddy, the Joint Collector, and Madan Mohan Reddy, a Senior Assistant. The duo was apprehended while accepting a bribe of Rs 8 lakhs.

The incident unfolded when a farmer, Jakkadi Muthyam Reddy, approached the Senior Assistant seeking the removal of his 14 guntas of land from the prohibited list on the Dharani portal. The official demanded a bribe of Rs 8 lakhs for this service. Muthyam Reddy then filed a complaint with the ACB.

Acting on the complaint, ACB officials devised a plan and caught the Senior Assistant red-handed while accepting the bribe. During interrogation, he revealed that he was acting on the instructions of the Joint Collector.

The ACB then arranged a phone call between the Senior Assistant and the Joint Collector, during which the latter instructed the former to deliver the money to him near the Outer Ring Road (ORR). The ACB team, accompanying the Senior Assistant, apprehended the Joint Collector as he was placing the bribe money in his car.

Following the arrests, searches were conducted at the residences of both officials. At Bhupal Reddy's residence in Nagole, authorities seized Rs 16 lakhs in cash and several crucial documents.