Hyderabad: The Central Crime Station police of Hyderabad arrested four Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials on Tuesday for siphoning government funds in the Motor Transport wing of GHMC in the financial years 2007-2008, 2008-2009. A report of the Vigilance and Enforc-ement Department found large-scale irregularities in purchase of spare parts and repairs, following which a case was registered in 2016.
The accused were identified as Md. Hafeez Khan, former CTO, GHMC, Hyderabad, D. Nageshwar, former D.E, transport section, GHMC, Hyderabad, Ramachandra Chary alias Chary, former foreman, transport section, GHMC, Hyderabad, and Rachapudi Prabhakar alias James, former asst. foreman, transport section, GHMC, Hyderabad.
The arrests were made nearly seven years after the multi-crore spare parts scam was unearthed in the transport wing of the GHMC.
The GHMC wrote to the Central Crime Station in March 2016 asking that cases be booked against more than 20 firms found to be involved in the scam, said the DCP, CCS, Avinash Mohanty.
The scam which occurred between 2007 and 2009, came to light only in 2010 when irregularities were unearthed in repairing transport vehicles.
Proper registers were also not maintained on spares purchase. Incidentally, of the nearly 120 authorised spare parts contractors empanelled, most firms were found to be operating benami. In several cases, addresses of spare parts suppliers too were found to be fake.
Back then, the fake firms supplied spares to GHMC’s transport wing after procuring them from authorised dealers and distributed the business among themselves in collusion with transport wing officials.
