No bail to official backed by K Chandrasekhar Rao

Hyderabad: A special court in Karimnagar has dismissed the No Objection Certificate (NOC) submitted by the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the case of K. Suresh Kumar, Chief Engineer in the Irrigation & CAD department, who was booked for having disproportionate assets by the same agency. TS Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had advocated through the ACB for his bail and had pulled up the ACB for being too ready to arrest government officers on corruption charges.

The court pointed out the double standards in this particular case. It said the ACB had on the one hand booked the officer, while on the other hand it has issued an NOC that will accelerate his bail petition. On July 5, the ACB had carried out multiple raids at properties owned by Mr Suresh Kumar and booked him for having assets disproportionate to his known source of income. He was found to own properties worth '3.8 crore which seemed excessive given his legitimate income as a government officer. 

Following his arrest, other senior officers holding plum posts in the government informed the Chief Minister in a review meeting that Suresh Kumar had been wrongly booked as most of the properties the ACB seized are owned by his children. The Chief Minister reportedly called the ACB chief and asked him to facilitate the bail petition of Suresh Kumar, the first time the head of a state has backed an accused.       

With the Chief Minister calling the shots, the ACB submitted the NOC to the special court at Karimnagar. Sources told this newspaper, “The court dismissed the petition, asking the ACB what are the ‘special’ circumstances, in this case, to issue an NOC.  The court inquired whether the alleged accused Suresh Kumar was in their custody and directed the ACB to file a statement detailing the disproportionate assets it had unearthed. The court is insisting on the conclusion of the case.”

The source added, “The court pointed out that ‘on one side you (ACB) have registered a case and on the other, issued an NOC. The court will only act by documental evidence. The judicial custody of Suresh Kumar has been extended to July 26, 2018’.” The Chief Minister had even told the Governor, ESL Narasimhan, that drastic changes had to be made with regard to ACB raids and investigation of corrupt government servants. Mr Rao told the Governor that the present method of raids by the ACB is “unscientific” and due to that, government officials and staff feel they are being harassed by the ACB.