5 judicial staff, sub-registrar & revenue assistant under ACB probe in Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) intensified its crackdown with multiple cases registered across Andhra Pradesh on Friday, targeting corruption in the judicial department, revenue offices, and sub-registrar offices.In one case, ACB booked three judicial department employees and two private persons under the Prevention of Corruption Act (1988, amended 2018) and relevant BNSS sections. The accused include G Vijaya Lakshmi, court master at the AP Judicial Academy in Mangalagiri; her husband Garikaparthi Ravi Sankar; relative Kolli Sridhar Reddy; and assistant section officers G Prashanth Chowdary and Y Venkata Siva of the AP high court.Searches were conducted across five locations in Guntur, NTR, and Krishna districts, where incriminating evidence was seized. The probe was launched following a report forwarded by the AP high court, which found prima facie evidence of corrupt practices.In another case, ACB sleuths caught Village Survey Assistant Sunkara Rajesh red-handed while demanding and accepting a ₹14,000 bribe at the Pedayadara revenue secretariat in Machilipatnam, Krishna district. Rajesh allegedly sought the bribe for issuing survey certificates for agricultural lands in Vadapalem village. He was arrested and produced before the ACB special court in Vijayawada, with searches underway at his premises.Separately, ACB continued checks for the second day at the Kadiyam sub-registrar office (SRO). Officials found 911 documents registered in 2025 without proper supporting papers, and noted that 107 of 144 documents registered on Jan 28–29 were not delivered to concerned parties. On Thursday, ACB seized ₹79,000 in cash from the drawer of SRO Eppili Lakshmi, who is also under probe for irregular registrations. Lakshmi, promoted to SRO Grade-I in 2024, had earlier served at Kakinada, Prathipadu, Amalapuram, and Peddapuram before being posted to Kadiyam.