Asst Commissioner arrested over disproportionate assets row

An Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes was Friday arrested in Kurnool after assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, including a duplex house, were unearthed, the State anti-corruption bureau said. Andhra Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director General R P Thakur said in a release here that searches were conducted on the properties of assistant commissioner P Nagendra Prasad in Kurnool, Anantapuramu, Tirupati and Hyderabad city.

Prasad is currently under suspension after having been trapped by the ACB last year while receiving an illegal gratification of Rs 50,000 from a trader, the release said. A duplex house and a residential flat in Anantapuramu town, a house site in Kurnool district, two motorcycles in Prasad's name and promissory notes and cheques related to loans extended by him were discovered during searches.

About 770 grams of gold worth Rs 21 lakh, Rs 7.10 lakh and 2.14 kg silver worth Rs 60,000 were discovered in the name of Prasad's daughter. A two-wheeler (scooty) was also registered in her name.

In another disproportionate assets case in Prakasam district, ACB teams unearthed moveable and immovable assets in the name of P Ravi Prakash, a deputy executive engineer in the panchayat raj engineering department, the release said. The ACB said a two-storied building and four house sites were found registered in Prakash's name.

Another eight house sites were registered in his wife's name in different parts of Prakasam district while a three-storied building and a house site were registered in the name of their two daughters, it said. Three other house sites were registered in the name of Prakash's 'benamis,' the release said.

"Total (book) value of the immoveable properties is Rs 1.20 crore," the ACB said. The ACB also found 836 grams of gold ornaments valued at Rs 12.34 lakh, 1.95 kg of silver worth Rs 59,200, a bank balance of Rs 7.36 lakh, household articles worth Rs 6.83 lakh and Rs 1.35 lakh in cash, the release added.

(With inputs from agencies.)