ACB officials arrested former APMDC Managing Director Venkata Reddy on Friday in Hyderabad. He is expected to be presented before the Vijayawada ACB court later today. The ACB had already registered a case against him.
Officials stated that Venkata Reddy’s actions caused a loss of Rs 2,566 crores in revenue to the government. Some officials indicated that he had surrendered, though ACB confirmed the arrest. However, there is still ambiguity over whether Venkata Reddy was caught or surrendered. The ACB officials detained him in Hyderabad on Thursday evening and brought him to Vijayawada early Friday morning.
There are indications that he may be presented in court by Friday afternoon, followed by custody for further investigation. Venkata Reddy, who hails from Kadapa district, was serving as a staff officer in central services.
Venkata Reddy was previously suspended by the state government over allegations of large-scale irregularities in mining tenders, contracts, APMDC regulations, and sand excavation. Attempts to serve him notices were unsuccessful, as he had been absconding. Subsequently, the ACB registered a case against him on September 11 and had been searching for him across various locations before finally apprehending him in Hyderabad.
During the previous YSRCP government, ACB found that Venkata Reddy’s actions led to a revenue loss of Rs 2,566 crores to the government. He allegedly conspired with sand contractor companies like GCC, Prathima Constructions, Jayaprakash Power Ventures Limited, and several others to embezzle thousands of crores.