Hyderabad: The Central Bureau of Investigation netted a big fish on Monday when it trapped Deputy Drugs Controller of India A. Chandrasekhara Rao while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 as part payment of the RS 4 lakh total bribe.
Rao, who is also head of Hyderabad Zone of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, demanded the bribe to extend the licence of Janani Voluntary Blood Bank, which operates in Secunderabad and Kukatpally.
CBI personnel, led by Superintendent of Police V. Chandrasekhar conducted the search of Deputy Drugs Controller’s house and seized Rs 26 lakh in cash, gold ornaments, and property documents that are being verified to find out whether they are disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The investigating agency was acting on a complaint filed by the CEO and president of the blood bank, Laxmi Reddy. She was told to put the cash in a cover, which Rao slipped into a drawer just as the agency sleuths entered his office and caught him.
The investigating agency is also verifying another written complaint by a pharmaceutical company against the Deputy Drug Controller. A locker in his house is yet to be opened. Chandrasekhara Rao has been arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act and will be produced in court on Tuesday.
