Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Sharma has granted approval to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to prosecute former Municipal Affairs and Urban Development (MAUD) Minister and BRS working president KT Rama Rao in the Formula E race case involving the alleged misappropriation of Rs 54.88 crore. The ACB will now file the chargesheet against the former minister.
The investigating agency had sought the Governor’s permission three months ago to prosecute him, citing evidence indicting him in the case. KT Rama Rao has been designated as accused number one in the case, followed by the then MAUD Secretary Arvind Kumar and HMDA’s Chief Engineer BLN Reddy. The Governor’s approval has now paved the way for KT Rama Rao’s arrest. The state government has also written to the Department of Personnel and Training under the Centre over the prosecution of Arvind Kumar.
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The Formula E race case was filed after BRS was defeated in the Assembly elections, and Congress came to power in the state. Current MAUD Secretary Dana Kishore filed the complaint in October last year regarding the release of funds by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority to the Formula E race organisers without seeking approval from the state Cabinet or the Finance Department. Moreover, the funds were transferred at a time when the model code of conduct was in force during the run-up to the Assembly elections in 2023. The BRS working president has appeared before the ACB twice for interrogation. The Enforcement Directorate had also sought the case documents from the ACB and filed an Enforcement Case Information Report under the PMLA Act in the same case.
Rao has admitted directing officials to transfer the funds to the Formula E race organisers but argued that he was forced to step in after the sponsors had pulled out. He insisted that the funds were transferred to save Hyderabad’s image, particularly because EV was considered to be the next big thing in terms of investment. Rao has also termed the case against him as a political vendetta. However, the new government has maintained that Rs 45.7 crore was irregularly transferred from HMDA’s account, and the agency also bore an additional tax burden of another Rs 8 crore for the transfer, leading to losses. In addition, the Congress government also cancelled the second edition of the Formula E race, which was slated to be held in January 2024, for which the funds had been transferred.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar has alleged that the BJP was indirectly helping KTR. He said, “The Governor has given permission to prosecute KTR (Rao) after 100 days… The BJP had put pressure on the Governor not to grant permission.” He also challenged Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar to ensure DoPT investigates Arvind Kumar, who also faces prosecution.
