Commercial Tax Commissioner in ACB net
Vijayawada: The Anti-Corruption Bureau sleuths conducted simultaneous raids on the residences and relatives of Geddapu Lakshmi Prasad, Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Vijayawada, and unearthed properties to the tune of Rs 40 crore disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The raids were conducted in Vijayawada, Guntur, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad on Wednesday. The officials noticed properties were registered in the name of accused, his two wives, mother-in-law and sisters-in-law.
Lakshmi Prasad joined the government service in 1987 and worked in Guntur, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool in various positions. The ACB officials arrested Prasad for possessing properties disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The document value of properties valued at Rs 7 crore and the market value of properties are estimated at more than Rs 40 crore. He was promoted as assistant commissioner in commercial taxes in 1994, deputy commissioner in 1998 and additional commissioner in June 2017.
ACB Director General RP Thakur said the ACB received credible information on the disproportionate assets owned by Lakshmi Prasad and raids were conducted simultaneously at various places in AP and Hyderabad. The seized properties include lavish buildings, house plots, jewellery, cash, bank deposits, promissory notes and cars. The officials noticed G plus two floored house documents in the name of Laxmi Prasad in Srikakulam worth Rs 70 lakh and 400 sq ft building in Gorantla village near Guntur.
According to ACB, some properties were in the name of his first wife Geddapu Alivelu. The properties include four house site plots each measuring 200 square yards in Parimi area of Hyderabad and two house sites measuring 366 sq ft and 200 sq ft in Vizag and a house plot with 889 sq ft in Gorantla village near Guntur.
The officials during the searches found documents of the properties registered in the name of second wife P Mallika. These include three house sites measuring 400 square yards, 172 square yards and 400 square yards in Tadikonda area of Guntur district.
A house site with area of 240 square yards in Gorantla village near Guntur was also found. A 1,485 sq ft flat in Ashok Nagar, Hyderabad, another flat measuring area of 1,594 sq ft in Narayanaguda, Hyderabad and one more flat measuring 2,040 sq ft in Gachhibowli, Hyderabad were found in raids.