ED seizes properties of CPWD engineer P. Sai Komareswar and wife in Hyderabad over disproportionate assets linked to bribery case
Hyderabad: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) attached three immovable properties worth Rs 1.27 crore belonging to P. Sai Komareswar, electrical engineer with the CPWD in Hyderabad, who was trapped while taking a bribe, and his wife P. Padmavathi for possession of disproportionate assets. The action was taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Komareswar was arrested while accepting a bribe from a contractor to clear his bills. The ACB and the CBI had conducted searches at his residence and recovered several incriminating documents, cash of Rs 30.5 lakh and a locker key.
It was revealed during the ED's investigation that the couple acquired four immovable properties in quick succession and made part-payments for two land parcels in cash. The payment was also made allegedly from unsecured loans obtained from various individuals. Agency officials found that the alleged unsecured loans had not been repaid for more than five years despite the accused having Rs 1.39 crore assets.
The couple could not provide any justification in respect of the cash seized by the CBI and details of the individuals from whom the loans were allegedly obtained, the ED said. Investigation revealed that the so-called loans were obtained to show that the properties have been acquired from banking channels and to project the proceeds of crime (POC) as untainted.
The agency-initiated investigation on the basis of an FIR and chargesheet filed by the ACB and CBI, Hyderabad, under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and IPC against Komareswar and Padmavathi for being in possession of disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 1.26 crore.
