Anti-Corruption Bureau probes solar plant linked to Telangana ex-irrigation chief’s son in disproportionate assets case

Hyderabad: Former engineer-in-chief of the irrigation department, C Muralidhar Rao, was remanded in judicial custody and shifted to Cherlapally Central Prison on Wednesday in connection with a disproportionate assets (DA) case.

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB), which arrested Rao on Tuesday, is now scrutinising a wide trail of documents, property transactions, and financial records linked to the case.

One major focus of the investigation is a 2 MW solar power plant in Zaheerabad, operated by a Jubilee Hills-based private company where Rao’s son is listed as a director. The firm, incorporated in 2016 and located on Road No. 92, had entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement with TGSPDCL starting April 2017.

According to ACB officials, the company secured a ₹10 crore loan for the plant and cleared it by 2021, while paying ₹5 lakh quarterly as maintenance charges. “When our team visited the registered company address, a different renewable energy firm was operating from the premises since 2016,” an ACB official said, adding that further verification is underway.

ACB has also identified three unopened bank lockers tied to Rao and his family. Officials plan to move a custody petition after examining the seized material in detail.

During Tuesday’s statewide raids on 12 locations connected to Rao and his family members, the ACB unearthed assets valued in hundreds of crores, including multiple villas, flats, and plots in Hyderabad, 11 acres of agricultural land in Warangal and Shabad, 12 acres in Zaheerabad, three acres of plotted land in Mominpet, and a 6,500 square yard plot in Mokila. Officials also seized a Mercedes Benz car, 30 tolas of gold, and incriminating documents.