Hyderabad: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) seized Rs 4.9 lakh in cash from the house of a barber working at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in an ongoing disproportionate assets (DA) case against the hospital’s additional medical superintendent, Dr Nori Lakshmi Bhaskar. Additional assets, including investment receipts and documents relating to agricultural land and a plot in Hyderabad, collectively valued at over Rs 3 crore, were also unearthed during searches at the houses of other alleged benamis of Lakshmi Bhaskar, all of whom are outsourcing workers at NIMS.
On Sept 21, the ACB registered a DA case against the senior hospital official under the Prevention of Corruption Act and conducted searches at eight locations across the state, including his house in Erragadda, the following day. Apart from the cash seized from barber Dhanraj’s house, the ACB unearthed two fixed deposits worth Rs 20 lakh in the name of D Ganesh, who works in the credit collection unit at NIMS. The agricultural land parcels are estimated to be worth around Rs 57 lakh. Further, the teams seized documents relating to a Rs 2.7-crore plot in Venkateswara Cooperative Housing Society at MLA Colony, Banjara Hills, in the name of Ganesh’s wife and another person, along with receipts for Rs 3 lakh in hand loans given by Ganesh to different people. “During the earlier searches at Lakshmi Bhaskar’s house on Sept 22, we seized two two-wheelers. Further verification of additional assets is underway. ” Following the initial searches, assets worth around Rs 25 crore were unearthed in Lakshmi Bhaskar’s name. He was remanded to judicial custody on Sept 23 and is currently lodged in Chanchalguda central prison.
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During searches at their homes, several documents and items forming part of the evidence in the suspected benami assets case were seized,” said an ACB official. The duo has confessed that though the vehicles are in their names, they are being used by Lakshmi Bhaskar’s family,” said an ACB investigator. “The suspected benamis had financial transactions with Lakshmi Bhaskar. They also seized documents relating to three agricultural land parcels in Maheswaram in the names of Ganesh and his wife Anitha, who is also an outsourcing employee at NIMS. They were registered in the names of Dhanraj and Ganesh. Download the TOI App.
As a follow-up to these searches, special teams conducted simultaneous searches at five places in Hyderabad on Tuesday. “On Tuesday, searches were also conducted at the houses of three other outsourcing workers — Rama Rao, K Raju and Asha.