An Assistant Engineer with the Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSPDCL) was allegedly caught accepting a Rs 1.2 lakh bribe in Hyderabad on Thursday for approving the installation of six new electricity meters, according to Anti-Corruption Bureau officials.
Pandala Sandhaya Rakesh, who works in the Madannapet section under the Santosh Nagar sub-division, allegedly demanded the money from a complainant seeking to replace old meters with six new ones. The complainant subsequently approached the ACB, which arranged a trap through its City Range-II officials.
The ACB said its officials caught the engineer while he was allegedly accepting the money. The alleged bribe amount was recovered from his possession, according to the agency’s account of the operation.
The case concerns an approval linked to electricity metering, an administrative step that determines whether consumers can obtain or replace service equipment through the power distribution system. The supplied report does not provide details about the complainant’s connection, the location of the meters or the period for which the approval had been pending.
The alleged payment was linked to the approval of an application for six new meters in place of old meters. The ACB’s action followed the complaint and the subsequent trap operation by its City Range-II team.
The engineer is expected to be produced before the Principal Special Judge for cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the ACB Act at Nampally. The report said he would be sent for judicial remand.
The case remains under investigation. The allegations will be subject to proceedings before the competent court, and the supplied report does not include a response from the accused or TSPDCL.
