Twelve properties, including the residence of a Telangana Additional Collector who rose through the ranks from a tehsildar, have been raided by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, ACB, based on a telephonic conversation in which the officer demanded Rs 1.12 crore cash as bribe for land registration.
According to the audio clip, which the NDTV has access to, Medak district's Additional Collector Gaddam Nagesh reportedly sought a bribe at a rate of Rs One lakh per acre to issue a no-objection certificate for 112 acres of land.
The 52-year-old reportedly demanded Rs 1.12 crore in cash or property of equal value. In the recorded conversation, Nagesh can be heard saying Rs70 lakh was due in cash.
However, the ACB sleuths are yet to seize any cash or papers, and the raids by Sangareddy Anti-Corruption Bureau Deputy Superintendent Suryanarayana are underway.
The raid comes close on heels of the sensational seizure of Rs One crore cash, as bribe money, from Keesara Mandal Revenue Officer Balaraju Nagaraju.
A few days later, the Telangana ACB also seized 1.5 kg gold ornaments, worth Rs 57.6 lakh, from a bank locker in the name of his relative GJ Narender. However, the keys to this locker were recovered from Nagaraju's house during the raid.
The ACB has been carrying out surprise checks across the state.
In the backdrop is the Telangana government's decision to stop all land registrations across the state until its new Revenue Act comes into effect. The bill, which proposes changes to check corruption among revenue officials, has been approved by the cabinet and has been tabled before the assembly which is in session.
