Hyderabad: The TS Gazetted Officers’ Association (TSGOA) has written to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, seeking withdrawal of the cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) against public servants during the struggle for a separate statehood, claiming that the Congress government targeted certain officers.
However, the ACB said cases were booked based on complaints and evide-nce. There are nearly 25 cases in the list presented to the CM, and sources revealed that there was a positive response from the CM.
In 2013 and 2014, five public servants were booked by the ACB for being in possession of disproportionate assets and 21 officials were booked under trap cases. Members of the TSGOA are willing to vouch for these public servants sa-ying that those who were booked were in support of the formation of a separate state and were thus targeted by the Congress government.
Those booked include T. Narsimha, senior ass-istant at Osmania Unive-rsity; S. Sambasiva Rao, District Education Offi-cer of Nizamabad; Man-dal Education Officer Jadav Dev Rao; Gopala Krishna, lecturer from the department of educ-ation; G. Kumara Swa-my, assistant engineer fr-om the irrigation depar-tment; assistant tech. officer K. Rajeshwar Rao; and district education officer A. Jagdeesh.
Padma Chary, president of the TSGOA, says, “In the undivided AP, go-vernment employees be-longing to the Telangana region who played an active role in the struggle were targeted and booked under disproportionate assets case and criminal misconduct ca-ses due to political grud-ges. A majority of these cases remain open as enquiries are pending. A few of the officers boo-ked have already retir-ed, but their cases are still pending. We are re-questing the CM to appo-int a one-man commission to investigate the cases and drop those who were booked due to political grudges.”
However, the ACB sta-nds firm that all of the cases booked are genui-ne. “The cases have been booked based on credib-le information gathered aftera thorough investigation. In the trap cases, the accused is caught red-handed. In disproportionate assets cases, the complaint is examined; after approval from the director-general of the ACB and with a warrant from the court, searches are conducted, and a case is booked based on the ill-gotten wealth unearthed. A public servant ca-nnot be nailed if he is clean,” officers of the ACB said.
Greasing the palms
- The Telangana Udyugula Sangam (TUS), an association of gazetted officers, has requested the Chief Minister to constitute a commission to examine all the pending cases filed by the ACB in accordance with the necessary guidelines.
- The TUS appeals that on completion of the examination by the commission, the government can pass orders in the interest of social justice and dispose of all the pending cases.
- As reported by this paper, nearly 600 cases filed against public servants are pending with the ACB and the department of vigilance and enforcement. Of these, the 400 filed before state bifurcation are in various stages such as pending inquiry, awaiting departmental inquiry, and forwarded to the vigilance commission.
