Andhra home secretary arrested in Emaar case

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Hyderabad, Jan 30 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Monday arrested Andhra Pradesh Home Secretary B.P.Acharya for alleged corruption in the Emaar-APIIC township case here.

Acharya was arrested by the CBI officials in the afternoon after they questioned him since morning at Dilkusha guest house, the camp office of the investigating agency.

The senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer was vice chairman and managing director of the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) when its equity was reduced in a joint venture with Dubai-based real estate major Emaar, causing huge losses to the state exchequer. Acharya is presently the principal secretary (home).

Acharya has been arrested on charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust under various sections of Indian Penal Code and also under Prevention of Corruption Act, CBI sources said.

The CBI will present him in the special court dealing with the CBI cases. He is the fourth accused to be arrested in Emaar case and the second IAS official held on charges of corruption.

IAS official Y. Srilakshmi was last month arrested in an illegal mining case involving former Karnataka minister G. Janardhana Reddy.

Acharya, who was MD of APIIC between 2005 and 2009, allegedly colluded with Emaar and its Indian associates to bring down APIIC's equity in the Emaar Hills Township Private Ltd (EHTPL) from 26 percent to six percent.

EHTPL, the joint venture company of Emaar and APIIC, was formed to build a township at Gachibowli in Hyderabad. APPIC had allotted 535 acres prime land for the upscale township.

Acharya and others allegedly diluted APIIC's equity without approval from APIIC board.

The CBI Saturday arrested G.G.V. Vijay Raghav, Chief Financial Officer, EHTPL. Earlier, Sunil Reddy, a businessman and an aide of YSR Congress party chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, was arrested.

Koneru Prasad, an industrialist, was arrested by the CBI in November last year. His Stylish Home, which acted as marketing agency of EHTPL, allegedly siphoned off huge money by selling villas to politicians, businessmen and film personalities at much higher rate than shown on paper.