Ponnam Peshi Under Scanner In ACB Trap Case
Inquiries by Deccan Chronicle revealed that the bribery involved active participation of some staff members at the minister’s peshi who were suspected of having handed over the cheque to the outsourcing employee to negotiate with the patient and accept the bribe amount. The patient had applied for Rs 13.5 lakh during the first instance of hospitalisation and Rs 5 lakh for the second time, sources said
Hyderabad: Transport and BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar’s peshi has come under the scanner following the Anti Corruption Bureau trapping two employees, one an outsourcing staffer and the other a regular government appointee, right at the Telangana Secretariat, the seat of administration, here on Thursday.
The two were caught red-handed after demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a patient who had applied for financial assistance under the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF). The patient who underwent medical treatment in a corporate hospital twice was already sanctioned Rs 2 lakh from the CMRF while his request for another Rs 5 lakh was under process.
According to an ACB press release, the accused, A. Raghavender, an outsourcing employee in the revenue department dealing with CMRF, and a senior assistant in Telangana Industrial Development Corporation demanded a bribe to hand over the cheque of `2 lakh and process the second claim for Rs 5 lakh. They were arrested and remanded for judicial custody.
Inquiries by Deccan Chronicle revealed that the bribery involved active participation of some staff members at the minister’s peshi who were suspected of having handed over the cheque to the outsourcing employee to negotiate with the patient and accept the bribe amount. The patient had applied for Rs 13.5 lakh during the first instance of hospitalisation and Rs 5 lakh for the second time, sources said.
The misuse has its roots in the government’s attempt to hand over the cheques to the beneficiaries through public representatives once or twice a month at public gatherings, apparently to take mileage for the good work.
As per procedure, MPs, ministers, MLCs and MLAs have to refer requests of their constituents for assistance under the CMRF to the Chief Minister whose office will process it and, if approved, send it to the revenue department for preparing the cheque and handover to the public representative concerned. “The records available with the revenue department revealed that the cheque was handed over in minister Ponnam Prabhakar’s peshi at least 20 days ago. There was an acknowledgement of receipt of cheque from the minister’s staff,” sources said. Further investigation by the ACB was expected to identify the corrupt staff in the minister’s peshi, sources added.
