A big break in a fresh case against the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has been filed against the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and former minister, K. T. Rama Rao alias KTR, relating to alleged financial irregularities into the Formula E car racing event, where the said K. T. Rama Rao was listed as A1 followed by A2, IAS officer Arvind Kumar and Chief Engineer BLN Reddy of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) as A3.
The probe began as Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma okayed a request from Chief Secretary Shanti Kumari to permit the ACB to start its investigation following allegations of procedural lapses. This includes unauthorized agreements that did not have prior approval from the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and the transferring of ₹46 crore foreign currency that bypassed a mandatory RBI clearance.
The ACB’s case is based on a complaint filed by the Principal Secretary of the Municipal Administration Department, highlighting these alleged discrepancies and pointing to KTR’s role in issuing directives that bypassed established procedures.
KTR now faces serious charges under Sections 13(1)(A) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. The ACB says these unauthorized decisions resulted in serious misuse of public funds-all without seeking the necessary clearances from the Cabinet and Finance Department.
The Formula E racing event, which was supposed to be a global spectacle held in 2023 at Hyderabad’s Tank Bund area, has turned out to be a controversial affair. Investigations are gathering steam, and the case has gained much public and political attention, raising serious questions about financial transparency and accountability in such high-profile projects.
With the probe deepening, attention has been thrown upon the results, wherein this incident highlighted the significant issue of adhering to the governance protocols in an event like this.
