DA case: Telangana ACB seizes Rs 7 lakh cash from NIMS barber’s house

The Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) recovered Rs 7 lakh from the residence of a NIMS barber, Dhanraj, as part of an investigation into a disproportionate assets case against former NIMS Additional Medical Superintendent Dr. Nori Lakshmi Bhaskar.

Hyderabad: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Telangana on Tuesday recovered Rs 7 lakh cash from the residence of a barber of Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) during searches as part of the investigation into the disproportionate assets case against Additional Medical Superintendent Dr Nori Lakshmi Bhaskar.

ACB officials were conducting searches at the premises linked to five employees of the premier state-run hospital, including barber Dhanraj.

---

The anti-graft agency, which arrested Lakshmi Bhaskar last week following searches at his premises, found during investigations that some employees of the NIMS were acting as ‘benamis’ of the senior hospital official.

The investigators were shocked to find Rs 7 lakh cash from the house of Dhanraj, whose job at the hospital is cutting hair.

The ACB officials were also examining land documents during searches. They were also looking into the financial transactions of the suspected ‘benamis’ of Lakshmi Bhaskar.

The agency had carried out searches at Bhaskar’s residence and other premises linked to relatives and associates on September 22. It had identified assets worth about Rs 6.13 crore, but the market value of the same was estimated to be around Rs 100 crore.

ACB said that a case was registered against Bhasker, 56, as he had acquired assets disproportionate to his known sources of income by indulging in corrupt practices and dubious means during his service.

Multiple flats, plots, luxury cars and 517.8 grams of gold are among the assets found during simultaneous searches by ACB officials at his residence and seven other places belonging to his relatives, friends, benamis, and other associates.

The officials found documents relating to one four-bedroom flat in a gated community, two triple-bedroom flats in the high-rise gated community at Kukatpally, five double room flats at Manikonda, Petbasheerabad, and Kukatpally, four open plots at Yadradi, Nandigama, Shamirpet and one 800 square yards open plot in Visakhapatnam City, Andhra Pradesh.

They also found bank balances of Rs 41 lakh, deposits of Rs 12 lakh in a Post Office, Rs 35 lakh investment in private financial institutions, Rs 29.55 lakh investment in mutual funds, gold ornaments weighing about 517.8 grams, multiple vehicles and electronic gadgets worth 5 lakh.