Transport official arrested for graft, owns assets worth Rs 800 crore!

Hyderabad, May 1: If you are a transport operator and if you need a permit in Andhra Pradesh's Godavari district, then you have to grease the palm of Adimoolam Mohan, the transport commissioner (DTC) at Kakkinada.

Many MLAs and governments have changed in between, but this has been the routine for the last 15 years. Mohan, incharge of two districts of east and west Godavari districts, has had a great ride by accumulating wealth to the tune of Rs 150 crore. Local media pegs the figure at a staggering Rs 800 crore. His luck ran out on Friday when Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) booked him on Friday and carried out searches at nine locations in three states of Andhra, Telangana and Karnataka where they unearthed huge properties disproportionate to his known sources of income. However, official figure had it at Rs 2.3 crore, as per the value at the time of purchase.

"In Hyderabad, we have identified a huge house at Jubilee Hills, 2,100 square yards of open plot each at prime localities of Kompally and Madhapur and another huge at Sherilingampally apart from a flat in the posh Panjagutta area. Another 750 square yards plot was identified at Tirupati. Then there huge plots (55 acres in Prakasam and Nellore districts) of Andhra. He had assets in Bellary (Karnataka) as well," an official said.

Officials expect to assess the bank accounts and lockers in the names of various family members and benamis on Monday. It's said he also owns a jewellery at Kakinada. The 52-year official had began career as an assistant executive engineer in the irrigation department in 1988, but later passed the group-I exam the next year and was posted as road transport officer. In 1999, he was promoted as the deputy commissioner.

Mohan was produced before the Vijayawada ACB court on Saturday. The judge remanded him to 14 days judicial custody. Before registering a case against him, ACB officials conducted thorough enquiries during which they came across the startling revelation that his unofficial income per month stood at Rs 3 crore.

THE BOOTY

* Eight open plots (of 2100 sq yds) at Kompalli

* Four plots (of 2100 sq yds) at Madhapur, one at Serilingampalli (500 sq yds), a residential flat at Panjagutta, a four-storied building at Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad, a plot measuring 15 cents in Tirupati and 54.5 acres of agricultural land in Prakasam, Nellore and Hyderabad

* 2 kg of gold ornaments, 5 kg of silver articles, fixed deposits of Rs 4 lakh, bank balance of Rs 3 lakh, household articles worth Rs 7 lakh, cash of Rs 83,000 and a Maruti Ertiga car.

* Bank accounts/lockers in Hyderabad and other places are yet to be scrutinised

* Sources say he also owns a jewellery in Kakkinada

*Bank accounts and lockers in the names of various family members and benamis to be accessed on Monday.