ED issues summons to KTR asking to appear on Jan.7 in Formula-E race case
Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned former Minister and BRS working president, KT Rama Rao ((KTR), to appear before it on January 7 in connection with the Formula-E race case. On Friday, Telangana High Court extended relief to KTR from the arrest till December 31 in connection with the alleged irregularities in the case.
The premier investigating agency also issued notices to senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar, who was the Principal Secretary of Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD), and the retired HMDA chief engineer BLN Reddy asking them to appear before it on January 2 and 3, respectively.
The ACB named KTR as A1 in the case while Arvind Kumar as A2 and Reddy as A3 in the case. The ED has already registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) based on a FIR issued by Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). The ACB booked a case against KTR, Arvind Kumar and Reddy under provisions of Section 409 (Criminal breach of trust) read with 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and Sections 13 (1)(a) read with 13 (2) of Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.
A few days ago, Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari wrote to the ACB Director-General asking him to initiate a probe against KTR in connection with alleged irregularities amounting to Rs.55 crore in the Formula-E race held in Hyderabad during the BRS regime in 2023.
The development follows the meeting of the State Cabinet which directed the Chief Secretary to write a letter to ACB director general immediately seeking investigation into the Formula-E race scam.
The State government secured Governor Jishnu Dev Varma's nod on December 12 to prosecute Rama Rao in the scam. The State government sought the Governor's approval on November 8 but he kept his decision pending for over a month finally giving his nod on December 12.