PNS|Hyderabad
In a sweeping crackdown on corruption, the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on April 21 apprehended five government officials and one television reporter across four districts for allegedly demanding and accepting bribes for routine official work. The arrests were made in quick succession, exposing deep-rooted irregularities in departments ranging from revenue and municipal administration to police and engineering wings.
In the most high-profile case, Sudharshanam Raghu, Deputy Executive Engineer at Nagaram Municipality in Rangareddy district, was caught demanding Rs 1.30 lakh and accepting Rs 1 lakh through outsourced work inspectors V Rakesh and V Suresh. The bribe was collected to clear CC road bills worth Rs 11 lakh. The ACB recovered the amount from Rakesh, whose hands later tested positive during chemical verification.
In Jangaon district, Vineet Kumar, Revenue Inspector at the Chilpur Tahsildar office, was arrested for accepting a bribe of Rs 26,000 from a complainant for processing a mutation file. The money, placed on the back seat of the officer’s car, was recovered and confirmed through chemical tests.
A more sensational case emerged from Manuguru in Bhadradri Kothagudem, where Inspector of Police Soma Satish Kumar and Big TV reporter Mittapalli Gopi were caught red-handed while dealing with a Rs 4 lakh bribe. The bribe was allegedly demanded to ensure the omission of names from a sensitive FIR. A part-payment of Rs 1 lakh was recovered from the reporter, whose hands and clothes tested positive for bribe-related chemicals.
In Nizamabad’s Armoor, Senior Assistant N Srinivasa Sharma from the Panchayat Raj Division was caught accepting Rs 7,000 for processing Fund Transfer Order documents. The bribe was recovered from his desk during the operation.
All the accused were arrested and produced before the respective ACB Special Courts in Warangal and Hyderabad. Officials confirmed that investigations are ongoing.
