Centre’s Stand on Arvind Delays Chargesheet on KTR, Says Revanth

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday said the delay in filing the chargesheet in the Formula E Race case against BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao was caused by the Central government’s reluctance to approve the prosecution of senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar, who is also an accused in the case.

In an informal chat with media persons at his residence here, the Chief Minister said that while Governor Jishnu Dev Verma accorded permission on November 20 to prosecute Rama Rao, the mandatory clearance from the Union Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for initiating prosecution against Arvind Kumar was still pending.

“Since both are accused in the same case, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) could not file a chargesheet selectively by excluding the names of other accused,” he explained.

Revanth Reddy said the ACB was exercising caution to ensure that there were no procedural lapses while finalising the chargesheet. Any deviation from due process, he said, could weaken the case and fail to withstand judicial scrutiny. The agency was therefore taking time to complete all statutory requirements before moving forward.

The ACB has named Rama Rao, who was the MAUD minister in the BRS government during the Formula E-race event in 2023 as accused number one (A1) in the case. Then MAUD principal secretary Arvind Kumar has been listed as A2, while then chief engineer of the HMDA, B.L.N. Reddy, is A3. Sports consultant Guvvada Krishna Rao has been named A4 and Formula E championship co-founder Alberto Longo as A5.

According to the ACB, the case pertains to the alleged transfer of nearly ₹55 crore from the HMDA account by Rama Rao to London-based Formula E Operations Limited without obtaining mandatory approvals. The agency has alleged that the financial transactions were irregular and involved misuse of official authority.

The ACB has also alleged a quid pro quo arrangement, claiming that the BRS received about ₹44 crore from a sponsorship company in return for granting rights related to the organisation of the Formula E race in Hyderabad. The investigation, which has seen nearly 11 months of correspondence and procedural steps, is now awaiting clearance from DoPT to enable filing of the chargesheet and further legal proceedings.