Dharma Reddy and his wife
9 November 2020.
Keesara Tahsildar (a revenue officer) EB Nagaraju was found dead in Chanchalguda prison. Nagaraju was in possession of ₹ 1.10 crore which was a bribe he took for a land-related deal. He was accused in a corruption case involving the Tahsildar.
Dharma Reddy, an 80-year-old farmer and a real estate agent and his son Srikanth Reddy were arrested on September 26, for their alleged involvement in illegally registering lands with the help of Keesara Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) Nagaraju. Dharma Reddy, who has been out on bail, committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree at a temple on Sunday morning in Kushaiguda, his native place in Hyderabad. His body was found at an open place in Vasavishivanagar of Kushaiguda. His son Srikanth Reddy is still in jail.
Land developer Chowla Srinath, land broker K. Anji Reddy and Rampally village revenue assistant Bongu Sairaj were also arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau(ACB) in connection with the above case. They are still in jail.
Dharma Reddy’s daughters said that Kandadi Bhupal Reddy, Lakshma Reddy and two others lodged false complaint against their father and that there was no pass book found in their house.
On September 25, based on vigilance and enforcement report, ACB had registered a second case against Nagaraju for illegally issuing pass books for 24 acres of land worth $6.2 million in Rampally village in the name of Dharma Reddy and others in July 2020.
According to ACB, Dharma Reddy colluded with the Tahsildar and claimed rights over 24 acres despite not possessing the land. Later he signed agreement with some real estate companies to sell the land confident that he can get its possession with Niagara’s help. Reddy’s son Sridhar Reddy is in the jail due to the denial of bail. In August, Nagaraju was caught red-handed by ACB while taking a bribe of $148,000 at his residence, reportedly for a land-related deal. The case led to more arrests and two suicides.
