ACB Gets 4-Day Custody of Nikesh Kumar

Hyderabad: Hours before the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials took the irrigation AEE Herur Nikesh Kumar into custody for questioning, the HYDRAA, which collected data of tainted irrigation department officers who have been taking bribes to issue no-objection certificates (NoCs) to the lands on buffer zones and FTLs, is likely to share the data with the ACB to help to conduct a proper inquiry.

On Wednesday, the court granted four-day police custody of the accused officer to the ACB for questioning him on the case of amassing illegal properties worth about Rs 100 crore. The ACB officials would take custody of the accused officer on Thursday from the jail, shift him to the ACB office and question him until Sunday.

With Nikesh Kumar's alleged disproportionate assets case being one of the major cases in the state, the ACB officials have taken it seriously and making strong attempts to unearth the illegal assets of the accused. Sources said that the agency officials have already obtained data on the NoCs Nikesh Kumar had issued to the businessmen, realtors and individuals in the Gandipet area.

Apart from the existing information about the accused officer, the ACB officials questioned a number of irrigation officers, staff and family members of Nikesh Kumar to obtain leads. They would question the accused on his farmhouses, open plots, commercial buildings, residential flats, gold ornaments and cash, which were seized from his possession at the time of searches.

A team of officials would verify the details of the seized properties by questioning the accused on his sources of income. It was also reported that the ACB officials obtained call data of the accused officer to know the people who have been in touch with him on a regular basis. The ACB sleuths will question Nikesh Kumar for four days on the documented evidence, bank statements and lockers possessed by him.