Telangana: Officer's houses and offices searched, property worth more than Rs 100 crore found

The Anti-Corruption Bureau has unearthed disproportionate assets worth over Rs 100 crore allegedly earned by Shiva Balakrishna, secretary of the Telangana State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TSRERA) and former director of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA).

ACB's preliminary findings reveal that Balakrishna made crores of rupees by allegedly facilitating permits to several real estate companies.

Authorities conducted searches at several places in Telangana, including the homes and offices of Balakrishna and his relatives, on allegations of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) started the search at 5 am on Wednesday. He covered 20 places. The search is likely to continue till Thursday. ACB teams searched the offices of HMDA and RERA. Raids were conducted at Balakrishna's house and other important places related to the investigation.

A case has been registered against Balkrishna. Suspicions have been raised that he has misused his official position to accumulate wealth on a large scale.

During the search, assets worth more than Rs 100 crore including gold, flats, bank deposits and benami holdings have been found. The list of seized items includes Rs 40 lakh in cash, two kilograms of gold jewellery, 60 expensive watches, property documents and bank deposits. Apart from this, 14 phones, 10 laptops and many electronic gadgets have been seized.

ACB is now investigating Balkrishna's bank lockers and other undeclared assets. The investigation is likely to continue tomorrow also.