Hyderabad, June 23: The Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Komuri Malla Reddy, an officer from the district prohibition and excise office in Nizamabad, on Tuesday for allegedly possessing disproportionate assets.
The arrest followed searches conducted at his properties and those of his relatives. The ACB has filed a case against Malla Reddy, accusing him of amassing assets far exceeding his known sources of income through corrupt practices during his tenure.
According to the agency, this offense is punishable under Section 13 (1) (b) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (amended in 2018). Consequently, searches were carried out at his residence and ten other locations linked to him, his relatives, associates, and benamidars.
During the searches, officials uncovered five buildings, four residential homes, one commercial block, eight vacant plots, and 10.23 acres of agricultural land. The ACB seized approximately ₹3.31 lakh in cash, a bank balance of ₹50 lakh, and three bank lockers registered under the names of the accused officer’s wife and family members. These lockers will be opened during the investigation. Additionally, a Grand Vitara car and a TVS scooter were also found.
The total estimated value of the assets discovered during the searches is around ₹3 crore, with the market value of the real estate expected to be significantly higher than the recorded prices.
The anti-corruption agency stated that further investigations into additional assets are ongoing. The accused officer is being presented for judicial remand before the second additional special judge for SPE and ACB cases.
This incident follows the recent arrest of Sunakari Narhari, the deputy director of land and survey (Multi Zone-2), by the ACB for a similar case involving disproportionate assets. Narhari was apprehended after searches revealed assets exceeding ₹13 crore, including ₹1.54 crore in cash. Officials found approximately ₹1.54 crore in cash, a bank balance of ₹2.29 crore, fixed deposits worth ₹5.04 crore, and around 1.3 kilograms of gold jewelry and 8 kilograms of silver.
Subsequently, the ACB also searched two bank lockers registered under Narhari’s wife, which contained ₹1.50 crore in cash, 12 gold biscuits weighing 100 grams each, and approximately two kilograms of gold and diamond jewelry.
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