Anti Corruption Bureau arrests GHMC officials for accepting bribe

Hyderabad: Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau has caught GHMC officials as well as SFL officials, red handed for accepting the bribe and now has charged them with corruption.

Following a tip-off received by the agency regarding a dealing between the officials for the food analysis reports, the Bureau conducted sudden raids.

The Telangana and AP State Food Laboratory of Institute of Preventive Medicine is responsible for conducting tests related to food adulteration and also the submission of reports related to food analysis.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau officials on conducting sudden raids caught N Ravindra, SFL chief public analyst along with four other food control officials of GHMC red-handed for accepting a bribe of Rs 1.25 lakh and also referring Pune Lab for manipulation of their food adulteration analysis report of the chicken biryani sample taken from Haveli Bar and Restaurant in Begumpet.

J. Purnachandra Rao, ACB director-general said the agency has received a tip-off of the alleged deal between the officials regarding the manipulation of food analysis reports.

“On Saturday we conducted a surprise check at SFL and arrested five officials,” he said.

The officials arrested are N. Ravindra, Chief Public Analyst of IPM, K. Balaji Raju, GHMC assistant food controller, A Jagan record assistant in GHMC Food Controller’s office, K.V.Narsinga Rao, owner of Haveli Bar and Restaurant, Begumpet.

N Ravindra heads the SFL department as a Chief Public Analyst for both states.

The laboratory deals with conducting tests of all kinds of food samples from cereals, cereal products, oil and fats, milk, milk products, spices, condiments, beverages to miscellaneous food products like salt, turmeric and red chilli powder and providing the adulteration analysis reports.