Visakhapatnam: ACB unearths assets worth Rs 8 crore during search on VMRDA planning officer's premises

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cops unearthed disproportionate assets of around Rs 8 crore related to a planning officer in Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA), Vardhanapu Sobhan Babu (55) on Wednesday.
The ACB cops found that the accused officer was in possession of disproportionate assets to his known sources of income and a case was registered against him.ACB officials announced that as per the government value of around Rs. 2.7 crore assets were unearthed. But the assets' worth would be around Rs. 8 crore as per the market value, ACB sources said.
According to ACB cops, the raids were conducted in the office and also the house of the planning officer at Lawson’s Bay Colony, besides other properties simultaneously. The planning officer Sobhan Babu of Penumanchi village in Achanta mandal of West Godavari district joined the state government department in the year 1987 as a Town Planning and Building Overseer. He was promoted to Town Planning Supervisor in 1997 and promoted as Town Planning Officer (TPO) in 2009. He was promoted to Assistant Director in 2015. At present, he is working as a Planning officer in VMRDA from 2019.
During the course of searches at the residential, office premises, and other places such as Gajuwaka in Vizag and Palakollu in West Godavari districts, it is revealed that Sobhan Babu and his family members are in possession of three flats, vacant site, mango plantation in 90 cents, one four wheeler, one two-wheeler, electrical gadgets, gold ornaments, bank balances, cash, and others.
The accused officer Sobhan Babu was arrested and produced before the Special Judge for the trial of SPE and ACB Cases at Visakhapatnam on Wednesday and further investigation is in progress.