Andhra Pradesh   

IPS officer held on graft charges in A.P.

Staff Reporter

Searches at SP's camp office and his house at Hyderabad

VISAKHAPATNAM: An IPS officer, J.G. Murali, SP of Visakhapatnam rural district, was taken into custody by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials on charges of amassing wealth by abusing his official position, here on Saturday.

During the day-long searches in the SP's camp office and in his house in Hyderabad, the ACB claimed that it had unearthed Rs 1.47 lakh in addition to properties, plots in and around Hyderabad, investments in real estate business in Bangalore and in the granite industry, a car and household articles, all worth Rs 65 lakh.

Officials also searched the houses of some people believed to have been benefited by the SP and seized documents pertaining to real estate business. The ACB team arrested P. Nagesh and nine others at Madhurawada. Two countrymade pistols with 150 live rounds of ammunition were also seized by the Bheemli police in a separate raid, an ACB press release said. The unprecedented raid on the IPS officer, which shook the entire police top brass, was stated to be on the complaints that the SP was misusing his official position and collecting bribes. Sources said searches were being taken up in Dhone, Kamareddy, Guntur, and Bangalore.

Mr. Murali said that he was `innocent' and said that some IPS officers who were jealous of his growing popularity as a strict officer, could be behind the raids. He claimed that he had cracked down on land-grabbers in Bheemunipatnam and that he had succeeded in stopping the illegal mining of semi-precious stones near Karaka village.

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