Hyderabad: Telangana’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has ramped up action against graft, registering 142 cases and arresting 145 officials across departments in the past seven months.
The agency, given a free hand under the Congress government, has been instructed to act on complaints without delay and without regard to department or rank. Complaints have surged, prompting intensified surveillance and surprise inspections.
Officials said the crackdown led to the seizure of ₹28.57 lakh in bribe money. Eight senior officers were booked for amassing assets disproportionate to their income, with raids at their residences recovering property worth crores.
From September last year to July 20, ACB filed 211 cases in total, averaging 20 arrests per month. Among the accused were 20 women officials and several outsourced staffers acting as mediators in bribe transactions.
The revenue department topped the list with 27 officials caught red-handed, followed by police (26), municipal administration (18), panchayat raj (17), sub-registrar offices (10), electricity (9), and irrigation (5).
Notable arrests included six RDOs and four surveyors from revenue, a DSP, five CIs, and ten SIs from the police, and a municipal commissioner. In irrigation, Engineer-in-Chief Hariram and Muralidhar Rao, along with EE Noone Sridhar, were arrested in disproportionate assets cases.
The ACB is also investigating the use of mediators and outsourced workers to shield senior officers. A list of such personnel is being prepared for submission to the government.
Citizens are urged to report bribery on toll-free number 1064, WhatsApp 94404 46106, or email dg_acb@telangana.gov.in.