ACB finds ₹1.35 crore cash, foreign currency in DSP disproportionate assets case in Telangana

The Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has recovered ₹1.35 crore in cash, foreign currency and approximately 14 litres of foreign liquor during searches linked to a disproportionate assets case against Sankireddy Bheem Reddy, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the Police Computer Services.

The searches were conducted at 10 locations in Hyderabad and Zaheerabad. They focused on the residences of suspected benamis — persons who allegedly held assets on behalf of the officer and had financial and other dealings with him, according to the agency.

The cash was found at the residence of a person named Bomma Venkatesh, the ACB said. The foreign currency and the liquor were also recovered during the same search.

Officials seized several documents and other items, which the agency described as part of the evidence relating to the suspected benami assets.

The searches were carried out under warrants issued by the Principal Special Judge for Special Police Establishment (SPE) and ACB Cases, Hyderabad, and were a continuation of searches conducted earlier in the case.

The ACB registered the disproportionate assets case on June 27 through its City Range-II, Hyderabad. The case was booked under Section 13(1)(b) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018. Section 13(1)(b) deals with a public servant who intentionally enriches himself illicitly; Section 13(2) provides for punishment, which can range from four to ten years of imprisonment and a fine.

Disproportionate assets cases generally examine whether a public servant's assets and expenditure are proportionate to his or her known sources of income. A "benami" transaction refers to property held in the name of another person in order to conceal the identity of the person who paid for it. Such transactions are governed by the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988.

The recovery of foreign liquor has also brought the Excise Department into the matter. The ACB said the department had been informed for necessary action and that a case was likely to be registered by the Excise authorities in accordance with law.

Searches in such cases are evidence-gathering steps and do not by themselves establish wrongdoing. Cases registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act are tried by designated special courts, and the material gathered would be placed before the court as the investigation proceeds.

The ACB said the investigation is continuing. No person has been convicted in the case, and the proceedings so far concern allegations and suspected assets. The DSP and others named in the investigation have the right to present their defence, and the presumption of innocence applies until a competent court holds otherwise.