AP Endowments Assistant Commissioner Kalingiri Shanti suspended after ACB DA case

The Andhra Pradesh government suspended Endowments Department Assistant Commissioner Kalingiri Shanti after her arrest in a disproportionate assets case. The ACB unearthed assets worth Rs 1.37 crore during raids, leading to her judicial custody and suspension.

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government has suspended an Assistant Commissioner in the Endowments Department following her arrest in a disproportionate assets case.

The orders for Kalingiri Shanti’s suspension were issued by Commissioner K. Ramchandramohan, official sources said on Sunday.

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The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had arrested Shanti on April 7 after simultaneous raids at premises linked to her.

She was found to have amassed assets worth Rs 1.37 crore, disproportionate to her known sources of income.

The same day, a court in Vijayawada sent her to judicial custody till April 21.

As per the government rules, any employee detained in custody for more than 48 hours on a criminal charge is deemed suspended.

ACB officials conducted searches for 10 hours in different locations, including Tadepalli, Undavalli, and Visakhapatnam.

They seized incriminating documents and unearthed assets, including a residential flat in Visakhapatnam, a G+2 building at Kunchanapalli, 776 grams of gold ornaments, nearly 3 kg of silver articles, cash worth Rs 1.15 lakh, bank balances of about Rs 3 lakh, a car, a motorcycle, and electronic gadgets.

Following the searches, the ACB registered a Disproportionate Assets (DA) case against the Assistant Commissioner under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The anti-graft agency took the action following information that she allegedly amassed wealth beyond her known sources of income.

This is the second time that Shanti has been suspended in two years.

She was appointed as Assistant Commissioner in the Endowments Department through the Andhra Pradesh State Public Service Commission (APPSC) in 2020, and worked in Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.

After the TDP-led coalition government came to power in 2024, Shanti was suspended for over an allegation of irregularities.

She was under suspension from July 2024 to March 2026.

The Endowments Department had initiated a departmental inquiry into the allegations against Shanti. The government had seriously taken the allegations against Shanti, including her recruitment procedure itself.

The suspension was lifted last month, and she was waiting for a posting.