DA case against 'tainted' judge

HYDERABAD: Additional district judge of Ranga Reddy district court, Vaidya Vara Prasad, has been booked on charges of amassing disproportionate assets by the state Anti-Corruption Bureau, which conducted searches at the houses of the judge and his associates on Wednesday.

Simultaneous searches were carried out at 11 places in Telangana and in Maharashtra, a day after the ACB filed a case against XIV additional district judge Prasad following a direction from the Hyderabad High Court. Disproportionate assets worth 3 crore were discovered during the searches.

Since morning, sleuths conducted searches at the residences of 54-year-old Prasad at Gaddiannaram in Saroornagar and Izzathnagar in Kondapur. Searches were also held at the houses of his relatives and associates at four places in Hyderabad, three in Sircilla and two places in Maharashtra.

Rs 3 cr illegal assets found in searches

Several documents on illegal assets and huge expenditure were also found. “Further, it was found that the accused judge along with his family had made several tours abroad, incurring huge expenditure,” an official release issued by ACB director general J Purnachandra Rao said. Prasad joined judicial service as a first class magistrate in 1994 and worked in Nagarkurnool, Kamareddy, Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy.

During searches, sleuths unearthed assets, including a flat in Kondapur worth ₹53 lakh, two flats at Vikas Nagar in Dilsukhnagar worth ₹12.63 lakh and ₹5.68 lakh respectively, ₹38.16 lakh bank balance and FDs, a Honda City car of ₹14 lakh, Hyundai i10 car worth ₹5.13 lakh, household articles worth ₹2.61 lakh from Dilsukhnagar flat, ₹9.8 lakh worth household articles from Kondapur flat and a TVS Scooty two-wheeler worth ₹30,000. “The documentary value of unearthed disproportionate assets is approximately ₹1.5 crore and market value is ₹3 crore,” the DG said.

Based on a petition from a private party, the HC had directed ACB to probe into the assets of Prasad a few weeks ago. After the enquiry, the ACB gathered prima facie evidence and it was then the high court ordered the ACB to register a case. Prasad was booked under section 13(1)(b) r/w 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988.

The ACB sleuths said the searches will continue and two bank lockers of the accused judge would be opened on Thursday. The judge is presently in ACB custody.