The controversy over ‘quid pro quo’ deals between Megha Krishna Reddy and senior Telangana IAS officer Rajat Kumar, who is working as special chief secretary in irrigation department refuses to die down even after MEIL group (Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd) and Rajat Kumar denying the sensational report published by an online news portal four days ago.

The online portals exposed with evidence that Megha group paid Rs 23 lakh marriage expenses to Rajat Kumar to perform his daughter’s wedding in star hotels belonging to Taj Group in Hyderabad last month in December. This amount was paid as kickbacks to Rajat Kumar for favouring Megha group in award of irrigation contracts. Megha group is undertaking Kaleshwaram project work contracts worth over Rs 1.25 lakh crore.

While this remains so, retired IAS officer Akunuri Murali who took voluntary retirement from Telangana IAS cadre in August 2019 in protest against KCR’s government encouraging corrupt IAS officials with plum posts and sidelining honest IAS offices like him by giving insignificant postings, made a sensational statement that he knew IAS officers in Telangana who have accounts in Swiss Bank.

Normally, Swiss Bank accounts are held by celebrities, politicians, industrailists who amass black money and divert them to Swiss Bank to escape Indian government’s radar.

Murali stated that few IAS officers in Telangana are resorting to largescale corruption in nexus with top TRS leaders in the state government and amassing huge black money. To protect their ill-gotten wealth, they are diverting the black money to Swiss Bank, he alleged.

He demanded judicial inquiry into Rajat Kumar’s issue and initiate stringent action against him if found guilty. If not, this will encourage more IAS officers to indulge in such quid pro quo deals with corporates, industrailists.