Two health officials, private driver caught accepting Rs 1 lakh bribe in Ranga Reddy

The Anti-Corruption Bureau caught two Ranga Reddy health department officials and a private driver while accepting Rs 1 lakh from a physiotherapy centre owner. The ACB alleged the bribe was sought for returning seized keys, avoiding further action and issuing a fresh licence.

Hyderabad: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday caught two health department officials and a private driver while accepting a Rs 1 lakh bribe from the owner of a physiotherapy centre in Ranga Reddy district.

The accused were Ranga Reddy District Medical and Health Officer (DM&HO) Swarna Kumari, Health Inspector M Srinivas and his private driver Maddurikrishnaiah.

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According to the ACB, Maddurikrishnaiah, allegedly at the instance of the two officials, had demanded Rs 2 lakh from the complainant. The bribe was allegedly sought for returning the keys of the physiotherapy centre, which had been seized earlier, and for not taking further action against the centre for allegedly operating without a DM&HO licence.

The amount was also allegedly demanded for issuing a fresh DM&HO licence to the centre. Based on a complaint, the ACB laid a trap. Maddurikrishnaiah was caught when he accepted Rs 1 lakh from the complainant on Monday, following which the ACB recovered the bribe amount from his possession at his instance.

The ACB stated that the two officials had improperly and dishonestly performed their official duties to obtain undue advantage.

The three persons were produced before the I Additional Special Judge for SPE and ACB cases at Nampally for judicial remand. The case is under investigation.