KTR appears before ACB court in Formula E case; hearing adjourned to August 25

BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao appeared before the Nampally ACB Special Court in the Formula E race case following the filing of the chargesheet. The court directed him to furnish a Rs 1 lakh personal bond and adjourned the matter to August 25.

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Friday appeared before the Nampally ACB Special Court in the Formula-E race case, marking his first court appearance since the Anti-Corruption Bureau filed its chargesheet. The court adjourned further proceedings to August 25.

Rama Rao who is accused No. 1, appeared along with former IAS officer Arvind Kumar and former HMDA Chief Engineer BLN Reddy, who are also accused in the case. The court directed the BRS working president to furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh along with two sureties.

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The ACB had filed a 77-page chargesheet on March 23, naming Rama Rao, Arvind Kumar, BLN Reddy and Formula E Operations (FEO) as accused. The chargesheet contained statements of 14 witnesses and alleges procedural violations in conducting the Formula E race in Hyderabad.

According to the ACB, funds for Formula E Season 10 were released without mandatory approvals from the Finance and Law Departments and the State Cabinet. It alleged that prescribed government procedures were bypassed while executing agreements related to the event. The agency has alleged a direct loss of Rs 54.88 crore to HMDA and claimed that the agreements created an additional financial burden of nearly Rs 600 crore on the State government. It also alleged that private firm S Next Gen received undue benefits and raised allegations of a quid pro quo

The accused have denied the allegations.

Former Ministers P Sabitha Indra Reddy and Mohd Mahmood Ali, MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy, BRS leader RS Praveen Kumar and party workers accompanied Rama Rao to the court. Later, they left for Narsampet to attend the funeral of former MLA and senior BRS leader Peddi Sudarshan Reddy.