The Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday arrested Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sankireddy Bheem Reddy in connection with a disproportionate assets case amounting to Rs 300 crore. The apprehension comes days after ACB officials conducted searches at the DSP's residence and 15 other premises connected to his friends, relatives, alleged benamidars across Telangana and Karnataka.
The officer posted with the Police Computer Services (PCS) in Hyderabad, was arrested at around 7.40 pm from his residence at Vessella Meadows in Ibrahimbagh. The government officer is expected to be produced before the ACB court within a short period of time.
What Raised Suspicion?
The ACB claimed that the Hyderabad officer owned assets disproportionate to his income during his service. Officials said that the properties and assets were acquired through corrupt practices and other wrongful means under the names of Benamis.
The officers found several movable and immovable assets allegedly linked to the officer.
Multiple Assets, Cash, Gold Recovered
The ACB, while conducting searches, found a villa in Hyderabad’s Vessella Meadows, a G+2 residential building with a penthouse in Telecom Nagar, flats in Telecom Nagar, Gachibowli and Tellapur, shares in a commercial complex at Manikonda, a commercial space near Manikonda Marrichettu Junction, several open plots in Nagole, Patancheru, Mominpet and near Pragathi Resorts, along with agricultural land in Sangareddy, Vikarabad, Karnataka and Devanahalli in Bengaluru.
An investment of Rs 75 lakh in M/s Sri Raghavendra Rock Sand Minerals and agricultural land measuring 4.20 acres at Muchintala village in CC Kunta was also found during the probe.
During investigation, officials recovered around Rs 3.60 lakh in cash from the DSP’s residence. Another Rs 40 lakh in cash was allegedly found at the residence of one of his alleged benamidars.
The searches also led to the recovery of gold ornaments weighing about two kilograms and silver articles weighing around 20 kilograms. Bank balances amounting to approximately Rs 19.91 lakh were also detected during the investigation.
A Diary Becomes Key Evidence
The ACB found a personal diary that belong to Bheem Reddy. He wrote the diary before he left for the Char Dham pilgrimage with his wife in May. The diary allegedly contained details of properties, investments, liabilities and the names of alleged benamidars.
The accused officer shared scanned copies of the diary with his two sons through WhatsApp before the pilgrimage. The diary emerged as a crucial piece of evidence in the disproportionate assets case.