Hyderabad: The raids by the ACB against corrupt government officials are not going down well with the intended targets and some of them have complained to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
In a review meeting with irrigation department staff headed by the Chief Minister last week, officials reportedly briefed the CM about the arrest of Irrigation & CAD Chief Engineer K. Suresh Kumar who was booked under a disproportionate assets case by the ACB on July 6.
The engineer was found to have assets worth Rs 5 crore while he only drew a salary of Rs 1 lakh. The CM was told the raids were conducted after complaints were lodged by some of his opponents within his department and some family members who had a grudge against him.
Other chief engineers present made a representation that Suresh Kumar was innocent. They claimed that the ACB estimated assets as per present value because of which his assets were shown as disproportionate, which is not true in this case or any case.
Defending the ACB, sources said, “The ACB gives two figures in the official press release, one of the original value of the property when purchased, and the other the current market value. The case is built up based on the documents, not the market value. Coming to the court submission, ACB gives correct value when purchased. Among those who are raising the issue, most of them are potential targets of the ACB.”
The ACB follows a well-organised process and procedures while laying a trap to catch the bribe taker red-handed, and in disproportionate assets cases and in cases of criminal misconduct (misuse of official position), the sources said.
