The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday caught an assistant engineer of the Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSPDCL) while allegedly accepting a Rs 1.2 lakh bribe to approve the installation of six electricity meters in Hyderabad’s Madannapet area.
The accused, Pandala Sandhaya Rakesh, works in the Madannapet section under the Santosh Nagar sub-division. According to ACB officials, he had demanded the money from a complainant for approving an application to replace old meters with six new ones.
The complainant approached the ACB after the demand was allegedly made. City Range-II officials subsequently laid a trap and caught Rakesh while he was allegedly accepting the bribe. The ACB said the money was recovered from his possession during the operation.
The case places the alleged demand within the routine process of securing electricity-meter approvals, an administrative step that affects households and other urban electricity consumers seeking new or replacement connections. The supplied report does not provide details about the applicant, the premises involved or how long the approval process had been pending.
The ACB identified Rakesh as an assistant engineer working in the TSPDCL’s Madannapet section. The power distribution company serves electricity consumers in southern Telangana, including parts of Hyderabad, where meter installation and replacement form part of the basic service interface between residents and the distribution utility.
Following the trap, Rakesh is expected to be produced before the Principal Special Judge for cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the ACB Act at Nampally. He is also expected to be sent for judicial remand, according to the report.
The ACB investigation is continuing. The allegations remain subject to the legal process, and the supplied report does not indicate whether further arrests or departmental action have been announced.
