The Andhra Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested two municipal corporation officials after it confiscated assets worth around Rs 500 crore on Monday, PTI reported. Twenty teams from the agency raided multiple properties of GV Raghurami Reddy, the director of town and country planning, and NV Sivaprasad, a Vijayawada Municipal Corporation official.
The two officials are said to be cousin. “We are yet to open the bank lockers of Reddy. Only after that, we would be able to arrive at the magnitude of the wealth,” ACB Director General RP Thakur was quoted as saying.
The properties raided were at 15 locations in Mangalagiri, Vijayawada, Gannavaram, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Chittoor, and a hotel in Shirdi. Among the assets discovered were several plots of land, including residential flats, convention centres, and a lodging house, said unidentified officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Jewellery worth Rs 4 crore, and Rs 43 lakh in cash was found in Sivaprasad’s possession.
Reddy, who is due to retire on Wednesday, was arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act for possessing assets disproportionate to his income, reported Hindustan Times. Sivaprasad was allegedly a benami (conduit) for Reddy, and operated several real estate firms in Vijayawada. Reddy has served in key roles in government bodies since 1988.
