BENGALURU: Sleuths from the Central Bureau of Investigation's anti-corruption wing registered a criminal case against a National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) project director under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, after seizing Rs 3.5 lakh unaccounted cash.
As per the CBI FIR, the officer, Srinivasulu Naidu, works in NHAI's Chitradurga office. The cash was seized from his car in Devanahalli on June 22, when Naidu was there for a meeting at the deputy commissioner's office.
CBI said it registered the case after the officer failed to provide legal sources for the money. "Information was received in the branch that Srinivasulu Naidu, during his tenure as project director, NHAI, Chitradurga, was habitually collecting bribe from various contractors in his office and in Bengaluru while on tour, and used to transport the same in his car to his hometown at Kalahasti (in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district)," the bureau stated in the FIR.
CBI was intimated that Naidu would use a vehicle bearing registration number KA 16 AA0430 to transport cash while in Karnataka and would switch to another vehicle (A LA0456) at the AP border.
Assets & bribes
As per the FIR, Naidu has amassed assets in the name of his family members and himself. "He has acquired several immovable properties in Kalahasti, Guntur and Nellore districts in AP, Yelahanka in Bengaluru, Kokapet in Hyderabad, and various other places. "The information revealed that he has invested in commercial properties in Tirupati and Kalahasti through the ill-gotten money," the CBI stated.
Naidu also allegedly collected bribe from different contractors during his official tours to the city.
"He was on tour to Bengaluru on June 17 and, during his stay, was given bribes by contractors. He also collected cash from various contractors through others," the FIR stated.
