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Telangana's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday arrested former Engineer-in-Chief of the Irrigation Department, C. Muralidhar Rao, in a disproportionate assets case.
The arrest followed searches at 10 locations in Hyderabad, Karimnagar, and Zaheerabad on Tuesday.
The anti-graft agency conducted raids on the premises of Rao, his family members and relatives.
Rao had served as Engineer-in-Chief for a decade during the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) rule. He was asked to resign in February 2024, following the Vigilance Department investigation into the sinking of piers at the Medigadda barrage, a part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project.
Rao retired in 2013 in undivided Andhra Pradesh but got multiple extensions. His arrest by the ACB comes amid the ongoing investigation into the alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram project.
The anti-graft agency registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, alleging that he amassed assets exceeding his known sources of income during his tenure.
The ACB began searches early Tuesday morning at Muralidhar Rao’s house in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. The ACB sleuths took him into custody. Searches were conducted at other premises in Karimnagar and Zaheerabad.
The ACB reportedly seized cash, gold, property documents and investment records. Rao allegedly possessed illegal assets running into several crores of rupees.
Rao's arrest is part of the ongoing drive against corruption in the irrigation department, especially against those officers who were linked to the Kaleshwaram project.
In April, the ACB arrested Bhookya Hari Ram, the former Engineer-in-Chief associated with the Kaleshwaram project, after uncovering assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The arrest follows raids conducted at his residence and 13 other locations. The ACB discovered several assets, including luxury villas in and around Hyderabad and lands at various places near the city.
The ACB raids were said to be based on the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) report concerning the Kaleshwaram project. The report exposed serious flaws in the project’s design, construction and maintenance.
Hari Ram is said to have played a key role in the construction and execution of the project.
Last month, the ACB arrested Irrigation Executive Engineer Nune Sridhar, who allegedly amassed huge properties. He, too, was associated with the multi-crore Kaleshwaram project.
Sridhar was associated with work on three packages of the project.