Rs 34 lakh Seized As Telangana Launches Crackdown On Corrupt Police Officers

The Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau has intensified its crackdown on errant police personnel, with officers from various districts being trapped while allegedly accepting bribes.

The most sensational case emerged from Hyderabad, where ACB officials arrested two officers attached to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Police Outpost under the Hyderabad Commissionerate. Inspector Sampathi Kanakaiah and Sub-Inspector UK Siddeshwar were caught on April 7 after allegedly demanding Rs 5 lakh and accepting Rs 2 lakh from a complainant.

According to ACB officials, the officers allegedly promised to file a charge sheet in a pending case and ensure that the complainant's family members were neither implicated nor arrested in a case registered at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Police Station.

During searches at Inspector Kanakaiah's residence, ACB teams recovered Rs 33.97 lakh in cash, the highest amount seized in the recent series of raids. Officials also found property documents suspected to be linked to disproportionate assets, which are now being scrutinised. Both officers were later produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody.

In another case, Armed Reserve Sub-Inspectors Pramod Goud and Jatavath Babu Naik, posted at a Cyber Crime Police Station, were allegedly caught while accepting Rs 1 lakh to spare an accused from arrest in a cybercrime case.

Further arrests followed across the state. SI Gandra Vinay was detained in Madhapur for allegedly demanding Rs 50,000, while SI Vijay Kumar was trapped while allegedly accepting another Rs 50,000.

Tekmal village SI Rajesh was caught allegedly taking Rs 30,000 and reportedly tried to flee into nearby fields before being chased down by ACB officers. In Nirmal city, SI T Ashok was arrested for allegedly accepting Rs 20,000, while in Warangal, KUC SI P Srikanth was trapped through his private driver for allegedly taking Rs 15,000.

Reacting strongly, Telangana DGP B Shivadhar Reddy warned that "uniform and corruption cannot go together," while ACB Director General Charu Sinha urged citizens to report bribery through the toll-free helpline 1064.