Telangana official arrested after searches reveal assets of Rs 100 crore

Hyderabad, Jan 25: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Telangana on Thursday arrested a senior official after disproportionate assets of over Rs 100 crore were found during searches at his houses and offices.

S. Balakrishna, Secretary, Telangana State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TSRERA) was arrested by the ACB in the morning, a day after searches were conducted at his premises and those of his relatives.

Sleuths of ACB on Wednesday conducted simultaneous raids at various places at the premises of Balakrishna, who had earlier worked as director of town planning in Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA).

The searches by 14 teams of the anti-graft body at various places including his villa in Manikonda, continued till midnight.

The simultaneous raids were conducted at Balakrishna's house, offices, premises of his relatives. The searches yielded recovery of assets, whose market value is estimated to be over Rs 100 crore.

About Rs 40 lakh cash, two-kilogram gold, documents of immovable assets like villas, flats and lands, 60 expensive wrist watches, about 40 iPhones and laptops have been seized.

The officials found bundles of currency notes of Rs 100, Rs 200 and Rs 500. Cash counting machines were used to count the same.

The official's bank lockers will be opened on Thursday. The ACB has identified lockers in at least four banks.

He had allegedly amassed wealth while serving as planning director in HMDA and in-charge director in Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD). The continued searches are likely to unearth more assets.

The ACB took up the investigation and carried out searches following complaints that he allegedly committed irregularities in granting approval for various works and that he possessed assets disproportionate to known sources of income. He will be produced in the court later in the day.