ACB Unearths ₹5 Crore Cash from Kaleshwaram EE Sridhar’s Lockers

 Hyderabad: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials who opened the bank lockers of Kaleshwaram project executive engineer Nunne Sridhar reportedly found Rs 5 crore cash stashed there, sources said, along with some papers which are under study.

The ACB had arrested Sridhar, who played a key role in the construction of the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project (KLIS), following raids on properties associated with him on June 12, and reportedly found him in possession of illegal assets worth about Rs 200 crore.

ACB officials have since secured his custody for five days to interrogate him with regard to amassing the assets by allegedly misusing his powers. Monday was his fourth day in ACB custody.

According to sources, ACB officials had found that Sridhar maintained multiple bank accounts and obtained their statements. On noticing allegedly suspicious transactions, the ACB officials opened several lockers belonging to Sridhar and his family members.

Sources said the ACB officials found a large number of bundles of Rs 500 denomination notes in the lockers. An initial estimate valued the stash at Rs 5 crore. Officials seized the cash and questioned Sridhar about it. It was suspected that these funds might have been diverted from the Kaleshwaram project and accepted in the form of bribes.

Agency officials indicated that after his ACB custody ends on Tuesday, the bureau was likely to file a petition before the court seeking extension of police custody for further questioning.

After studying call data and chats from Sridhar’s phone, the ACB is likely to serve notices to some persons who have close links with Sridhar with regard to his business activities. It was also reported that Sridhar submitted wrong information to the government regarding his assets.

Sources said Sridhar was found to have purchased real estate in the city, Warangal and Karimnagar, besides investing in hotels.