Visakhapatnam: Golla Venkata Raghu, the director of town and country planning of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation, was produced before the Special Court of the ACB on Tuesday and subsequently sent to remand.
Mr Raghu was arrested on Monday for illegally amassing assets worth crores of rupees. Officials of the ACB said that he worked as the chief of town planning of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), in Vizag city, from 2004 to 2009, during which time he amassed large amounts of wealth. Among the assets is a 3,200 sq. ft apartment located in the posh locality of RK Beach Road.
Sources said that Mr Raghu accepted bribes from builders during his tenure in Visakhapatnam. Reportedly, he would demand a minimum of Rs 10 lakh for the sanctioning of permissions for building plans.
Golla Venkata Raghu, his benamis sent to remand
The ACB filed a petition requesting to him for judicial custody immediately for further investigation. Along with the ACB, the entire state was astonished with his assets. As most of disproportionate assets are found in Vizag and there was necessity to produce Mr Raghu before the court within 24 hours, he was produced in Vizag court. His benamis — VMC junior technical officer Nalluri Venkata Siva Prasad and his wife Chintamaneni Gayatri — were produced before the Vijayawada ACB court on Tuesday and sent to 14-day remand. The ACB officials requested judicial custody of G.V. Raghu, Prasad and Gayatri.
The ACB raids continued and the officials found Rs 80 lakh duplex house in Bhargavi Nagar on Tuesday.
According to the press release, Rs 17 lakh house site at Mangalagiri in the name of Raghu was found and Rs 24 lakh house plot was in Satyavedu of Chittoor district in the name of his niece. Thakur also mentioned about Rs 60 lakh bank balance in different bank accounts in the names of Raghu and his family.
