Jail for Telangana cop who amassed illegal assets worth Rs3 billion

Hyderabad A city court on Tuesday sent suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sankireddy Bheem Reddy to judicial custody for 14 days in the Disproportionate Assets case registered by the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) after he was allegedly found to be owning illegal assets worth about Rs.300 crore (Rs3 billion).

The ACB, which arrested the tainted official on Monday evening, produced him before designated ACB Court on Tuesday. Following the court order, he was shifted to Chanchalguda Central Jail.

The ACB arrested him days after searches at multiple locations linked to him and the investigation into alleged corruption and illegal assets.

Bheem Reddy, who was posted at Police Computer Services (PCS), was arrested at about 7.40pm on Monday from his residence in Vessella Meadows, Ibrahimbagh.

Corrupt practices

The anti-graft agency said that he had acquired disproportionate assets to his known sources of income by indulging in corrupt practices and dubious means during his service.

The ACB officials had carried out simultaneous searches at the officer’s residence and 15 other premises linked to his relatives, friends, alleged benamidars and associates across Telangana and Karnataka on July 2.

The assets seized by the ACB during the searches are estimated to be valued at around Rs.300 crore, making it one of the biggest anti-corruption cases involving a Telangana police officer.

Assets seized at a glance

• 1 villa in Vessella Meadows, Ibrahimbagh

• 1 G+2 house with penthouse in Telecom Nagar

• 4 residential flats in Hyderabad (Telecom Nagar, Gachibowli and Tellapur)

• Share in a G+5 commercial complex at Manikonda

• 3,000 sq ft commercial space near Manikonda Marrichettu Junction

• Over 54 acres of agricultural land in Telangana and Karnataka

• 1 acre of land at Devanahalli, Bengaluru

• 4 open plots in Nagole, Patancheru and Mominpet

• Rs75 lakh investment in Sri Raghavendra Rock Sand Minerals

• 4.2 acres of agricultural land at Muchintala village, CC Kunta

Further, during the searches, net cash of approximately Rs3.60 lakh was recovered in the house of the accused officer. Another Rs. 40 lakh in cash was found in another one of his benami houses. Gold ornaments weighing about 2 kilograms, silver articles weighing about 20 kilograms were also uncovered. The ACB also found bank balances of approximately Rs. 19.91 lakh.

The ACB had stepped up investigation after it reportedly recovered a personal handwritten diary from the officer. Written by Bheem Reddy before he left on the Char Dham pilgrimage with his wife in May, the diary listed properties, investments, liabilities and the names of alleged benamis.

The accused officer allegedly shared scanned copies of the diary with his two sons through WhatsApp before leaving for Char Dham.