CBI arrests top Andhra official over land transfer irregularities
30 Jan 2012
The CBI has arrested senior IAS officer and Andhra Pradesh principal home secretary B P Acharya over irregularities in a land transfer case and sale of villas and apartments in a township in the state.
Acharya has been taken under CBI custody till 1 February.
The township was jointly developed by state-run Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) and Dubai-based infrastructure firm Emaar.
Emaar Properties, a real estate giant headquartered in Dubai, built a high-end hotel, a golf course and luxury villas on close to 500 acres in Manikonda. In 2002 it partnered with the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) which says the developer cheated it of crores of profit by siphoning money to Dubai.
In 2005, Acharya was the vice chairman and managing director of the APIIC. He has been charged with cheating and criminal conspiracy under the Prevention of Corruption Act
Acharya has been named by the agency in the FIR. The 1983 batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre has had his residences searched in August last year.