Hyderabad: Ch Muralidhar Rao, a retired chief engineer from the state irrigation department, has been arrested for possessing assets beyond his known income. He is now in judicial custody at Chanchalguda Jail. The ACB is intensifying its investigation and might detain more irrigation officials suspected of corruption. Names of these officials were listed in a report by the state Vigilance Commission, led by former IAS officer MG Gopal.
The report advises the state to pursue criminal cases against 17 irrigation officials, both current and retired, for their involvement in the Medigadda barrage damage which caused significant financial losses. The government has also been urged to act against L&T Company under several sections of the IPC, the PC Act 1988, the Dam Safety Act 2021, and the PDPP Act 1984.
ACB officials are digging deeper into how these 17 officials allegedly embezzled funds during the barrage construction. They reportedly used tactics like awarding contracts under false names, inflating costs, and advancing funds without proper approval.
Among those being scrutinized are B Rajana Nagendra Rao (engineer-in-chief, operational), T Srinivas (Chief engineer, Adilabad), and V Phanibhushan Sharma (Director of works-accounts) for their alleged involvement. Others under investigation include A Narendar Reddy (retired engineer-in-chief, Central Design Organization), KSS Chandra Sekhar (SE, CDO), and H Baswaraj (former SE, Siddipet Division).
