Tribal welfare engineer-in-chief caught accepting Rs. 25 L bribe
Sabbavarapu Srinivas, engineer-in-chief of tribal welfare department with the cash seized by the ACB officials
- Sabbavarapu Srinivas reportedly demanded Rs 5 cr as bribe to clear huge amount of pending bills of a contractor Krishnamraju
- The contractor refused to pay the amount demand and reported the incident, leading to Srinivas being caught red-handed while accepting the drastically reduced bribe
Vijayawada: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday arrested Sabbavarapu Srinivas, the engineer-in-chief of the tribal welfare department, for allegedly demanding accepting a bribe of Rs 25 lakh from a contractor. The arrest was made at his office in Vijayawada after the contractor, Chekuri Krishnamraju, filed a complaint.
Krishnamraju, the managing partner of Sri Satya Sai Constructions in Visakhapatnam, had been executing contract work for the tribal welfare department across several districts in the state, including Alluri Sitaramaraju, Parvathipuram Manyam, and Srikakulam. A significant amount was pending for ‘deviation contract works,’ and to clear these bills, Srinivas reportedly demanded a bribe of Rs 5 crore. After the contractor stated his unwillingness to pay such a large sum, the official lowered the initial demand to Rs. 25 lakh.
Unwilling to pay the bribe, Krishnamraju lodged a complaint with the ACB in Vijayawada. Following the complaint, the ACB registered a case. ACB personnel then caught Srinivas red-handed while he was accepting the bribe. He is scheduled to be produced before the ACB Court in Vijayawada.
This isn’t the first time Srinivas has faced corruption charges. While serving as an assistant executive engineer in Visakhapatnam in 2001, he was investigated by the ACB for allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The case led to a departmental proceeding that is still ongoing.
In 2014, as an executive engineer in Seethampeta, Srikakulam district, he was also accused of demanding a bribe to clear a contractor’s bills. While only a junior assistant was caught in that instance, departmental proceedings are still underway against Srinivas in connection with that case as well. The ACB has stated it has received several other complaints about the officer’s corrupt practices.
The ACB has urged citizens to report any instances of corruption they encounter in state government offices. Complaints can be filed at a local ACB office, or by contacting them through the toll-free number 1064, mobile number 94404 40057, or by emailing [email protected].
