Sheep Distribution Scam: ED Raids at Multiple Locations in Hyderabad
The searches were carried out at the residences and premises of former Animal Husbandry Director Ram Chander Naik, key accused Moinuddin, and others.
Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials, who are probing the cases in connection with the sheep purchase scam, conducted raids at eight different places on Wednesday.
A large sum of cash was recovered from G. Kalyan Kumar, a former officer on special duty (OSD) for then minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav. The investigating agencies suspect that Rs 700 crore government funds were diverted in the scam.
The ED officers shifted Kalyan Kumar to ED office — along with the alleged seized cash — for further questioning. The ED suspects that Kalyan Kumar had played a key role in the sheep purchase scam by influencing government officers to favour the contractors by diverting the funds. The ED officials brought portable counting machines to count seized cash from the possession of the former OSD of the former BRS minister.
The scam relates to the Sheep Rearing and Development Scheme (SRDS) introduced by the former BRS government in 2017. Under this scheme, the government got contractors to procure sheep from different states and allot purchased sheep to the farmers in Telangana.
Similar raids took place at the places related to several animal husbandry officials in Hyderabad and the key accused meat firm — Lolo company. The accused Mohammed Moinuddin is absconding to Dubai days before the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials registering cases.
The ED officials verified the regular business activities of Lolo and its exports and verified its bank statements.