Madanapalle (Annamayya District): Former Madanapalle RDO MS Murali has been arrested by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in connection with the alleged deliberate destruction of revenue records at the sub-collector’s office in Madanapalle on Tuesday and released on bail as per Supreme Court directions. The arrest comes nearly a year after the incident, which investigators believe was a planned attempt to destroy evidence linked to illegal land transactions. He was later released on bail following directions from the Supreme Court.

The case dates back to July 21, 2024, when a fire broke out in the sub-collector’s office, destroying around 2,440 important revenue files. The CID later confirmed that the fire was not accidental, and pointed to a deliberate attempt to tamper with official land records.

The investigation revealed that large-scale irregularities had occurred during Murali’s tenure as RDO, particularly relating to the removal and regularisation of over 79,000 acres of assigned land from 22A records.

Following the incident, Murali went absconding, prompting a State-wide search. CID teams carried out searches in Madanapalle, Tirupati and Hyderabad before finally locating him in KR Nagar, Tirupati. His arrest was confirmed by CID DSP Venugopal and CI Chandrasekhar.

Prior to the arrest, Murali’s anticipatory bail petition was rejected by the High Court. He then approached the Supreme Court, which permitted the authorities to arrest him but directed that he be granted bail immediately thereafter.

Murali served as the RDO of Madanapalle from 2022 until February 5, 2024. He was later posted as Special Deputy Collector (Legal Cell) in Tirupati, before being suspended from service on July 29, 2024, following the preliminary findings in the case. The CID had earlier arrested senior assistant Gautam Teja, who was also suspended by the government. Another RDO, Hari Prasad, was similarly suspended as the investigation widened into the alleged land-related irregularities.