Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma on Thursday green-lit an inquiry against senior BRS leader KT Rama Rao, the son of ex-Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, in connection with an alleged Rs 54.88 scam involving the hosting of a Formula-E race.
A case was filed against the five-time MLA last year - over alleged irregularities and financial discrepancies - and that prompted the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau to launch a probe.
Specifically, he is accused of misusing government funds and his authority when he was the Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development.
Sources told NDTV that now Varma has signed off an inquiry, anti-corruption officials will step up the pace and intensity of their investigation into the Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader.
In June the ACB questioned KTR for nearly eight hours and also demanded he hand over his mobile phone and other personal electronic devices. The demand was refused; he cited constitutional and legal rights that, he said, allowed him to decline the demand.
KTR responded by targeting Chief Minister Revanth Reddy; he claimed ACB officials asked questions 'given' to them by the ruling Congress. "Since Revanth Reddy was jailed once... he is trying to jail others just for sadistic pleasure. If I am put in jail... I will not be scared..."
The agency filed its case in December. The case was based on a complaint by a government official who claimed foreign remittances had been made without the prior approval of the relevant regulatory authorities. This led to an additional tax burden of Rs 8.06 crore, he claimed.
It was also alleged that the payment was made while the Model Code of Conduct was in effect -for the 2023 Assembly election - and without the prior approval of the Election Commission.
The Enforcement Directorate has also registered a case.
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