Vijaywada: Rs 1 crore stolen at house, babu won’t complain

VIJAYAWADA: The theft of a large amount of cash and gold jewellery reportedly occurred in the house of an IAS officer at Vijayawada, Officials and police are keeping the matter a secret.

According to sources, a security guard working the officer’s house is believed to have stolen Rs 85 lakh cash and Rs 24 lakh worth of gold ornaments. Senior officials then deployed police personnel to trace the guard, M. Biswas, who was booked through a security agency in Hyderabad.

According to sources, the officer works a secretary in the water resources department and was staying in the government guest house at Vijayawada. Sources said security guard Biswas won the trust of the family.

Sources said Biswas found the cash and gold ornaments during the elections and reportedly stole them a month ago when the IAS officer and his family were away.

Shocked by the theft, the IAS officer first considered lodging a complaint with the police but changed his mind fearing inquiries from the income-tax and other departments.

He reportedly lobbied with the senior leader of the Telugu Desam to get the police to trace Biswas and recover the money. The leader reportedly asked the Task Force to investigate.

Sources said the Task Force traced Biswas to Siliguri, West Bengal, They brought Biswas back to Vijayawada and recovered some cash and a few gold ornaments.

The police found that Biswas had spent a large part of the money. Sources said the police asked the IAS officer to lodge a complaint but he continued to remain reluctant and the police did not register a case. Police officials refused to confirm the theft, saying they had not received a complaint.