NEW DELHI / AGARTALA, July 6 (TIWN): In a move that could affect several high-profile officers, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has expedited cases relating to disproportionate assets and corruption registered against Indian Police Service (IPS) officers that have been pending for over 10 years, a senior government official said. The decision is likely to have the biggest impact in Tripura, as the state Director General of Police (DGP) K. Nagraj, who was handpicked by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar in 2014, has a disproportionate assets case pending against him in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In 2005, the probe agency had registered a case against K Nagraj, the 1983 batch IPS officer of the Manipur-Tripura cadre for allegedly amassing property to the tune of Rs. 1.07 crore, which was disproportionate to his known sources of income. Tripura’s multiple corruption tainted DGP K.Nagraj is the only serving DGP in nation who was chargesheeted by CBI in 2005, 2007 for amassing properties disproportionate to his known sources of income. Tripura DGP, K Nagraj, handpicked by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar in 2014, is among several senior IPS officers being investigated for corruption and disproportionate assets by the CBI, whose cases have been fast tracked by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The case was registered by the CBI in 2007 when Mr. Nagraj was posted on Central deputation with the Central Reserve Police Force in Hyderabad. The final verdict has not yet been declared.

The Home Ministry, the cadre controlling authority of IPS officers, simultaneously carried out disciplinary action proceedings against personnel accused of graft.

 The MHA has appointed the DG, Indo-Tibetan Border Police force (ITBP) to conduct the enquiry against Mr. Nagraj and has asked him to submit the report at the earliest.

“It is not only the Tripura DGP’s case; we have expedited other graft cases as well,” the official said.

However, when contacted  DGP K Nagraj said, “I have no comments to make and the details are in public domain. Everything is available with the MHA.”

Other officers facing MHA enquiry are 1989 batch IPS officer A. Sudhakar Rao, who was booked by the CBI for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh; Himachal Pradesh cadre officer R.K Singh, who took voluntary retirement in 2009, and Madhya Pradesh cadre officer R.N. Pandey, who is now retired.

“The investigating agencies are doing their job but we have decided to finalise the cases at our end. The Home Minister held a review meeting a few days ago and he asked for a compliance report soon,” said the official.

 Investigations by CBI revealed that during 1978 to 1997, the officer had acquired assets and incurred expenditure to the tune of Rs 83.42 lakh against an income of Rs 13.24 lakh from all his known sources of income.

The officer was found to have possessed disproportionate assets to the tune of over Rs 70 lakh during the period that is to the tune of more than 500 per cent compared to the known sources of income.

Nagraj had bought most of his properties in posh localities of Hyderabad and according to the prevailing market their price would now run into several crores.

The properties acquired by him include a house and a plot in the posh Banjara Hills, flat in Yellarddyguda, a house and a plot in Jubilee Hills, flat in Somajiguda, Hyderabad, plots in Guttalu Begumpet, a shop in Abids and eight plots in Renga Reddy District of Andhra Pradesh.

On Feb 12, 2005 national newspaper ‘The Hindu’ reported that huge timbers (fine teak wood) was seized from K.Nagraj’s posh Banjara Hills residence at Hyderbad as CBI was searching the tainted IPS official for involvement in multiple corruptions. After discovery of huge timber, CBI had informed Andhra Pradesh Forest Dept which filed fresh cases against him. Fine teak wood doesn’t grow in K.Nagraj’s native Hyderabad metro region, neither in his relatives villages in Andhra Pradesh. 

So, obvious suspicion arises whether Nagraj smuggled these timber out of Tripura forests to Hyderabad – otherwise why CBI and AP Forest Dept  confiscated these undocumented illegal timbers (fine teak-wood) from Nagraj’s palatial bunglow at Hyderabad in 2005 ? Which IPS or IAS official needs 16 Bank accounts unless he is involved in multiple corruptions ?

K.Nagraj spent most of his career in Tripura other than few years in Hyderabad, Chennai in CRPF as part of  state cadre transfers.

National newspapers ‘ The Hindu’ and ‘Times of India’ reported timber-smuggling story against this tainted IPS officer.

http://www.thehindu.com/2005/02/12/stories/2005021216930300.htm

Saturday, Feb 12, 2005

Case against IPS officer

NEW DELHI : The CBI today registered a disproportionate assets case against a senior IPS official and carried out searches at three places in Hyderabad during which it found fine teak wood amounting to Rs 12 lakhs at one of his residences.

The CBI alleged that K. Nagraj, a 1983 IPS official from Manipur and Tripura cadre, had amassed property to the tune of Rs 1.07 crores, which was disproportionate to his known sources of income, agency sources said here.

They said during searches at his Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad, the CBI recovered fine teak-wood worth Rs 12 lakhs. The forest department was informed and another fresh case would be registered against him.

CBI has seized 16 of his bank accounts besides three lockers which would be checked tomorrow, they said.

CBI case Status on K.Nagraj IPS

K. Nagraj  IPS

FIR: February 9, 2005

Then: DIG, CRPF, Hyderabad

Now: DGP, Tripura

Date of chargesheet: March 29, 2007

Status: Under trial

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Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar should wake up from his self-induced slumber and measure the political costs for hiring tainted officials in key posts like DGP Nagraj.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on March 29,2007 charge-sheeted I/C-DGP of Tripura police K. Nagraj for possessing assets 500 times more than his known source of income.
Nagraj, an IPS officer of the 1983 batch of the Manipur-Tripura cadre, was charge-sheeted along with his father and brother in the court of the Special Judge, Hyderabad, for possessing assets in his own name as well as in the names of his family members.

CBI had registered the disproportionate assets case against him in 2005, filed  FIR.

Investigations by CBI revealed that during 1978 to 1997, the officer had acquired assets and incurred expenditure to the tune of Rs 83.42 lakh against an income of Rs 13.24 lakh from all his known sources of income.

“The officer was found to have possessed disproportionate assets to the tune of over Rs 70 lakh during the period that is to the tune of more than 500 per cent compared to the known sources of income,” said G Mohanty, spokesperson of CBI in 2007.

Nagraj had bought most of his properties in posh localities of Hyderabad and according to the prevailing market rate in 2015-16, their price would now run into Rs. 90 to 100 crores.

“The properties acquired by him include a house and a plot in the posh Banjara Hills, flat in Yellarddyguda, a house and a plot in Jubilee Hills, flat in Somajiguda, Hyderabad, plots in Guttalu Begumpet, a shop in Abids and eight plots in Renga Reddy District of Andhra Pradesh,” a senior CBI official said.

Hyderabad real estate prices jumped exponentially from 1978 – 1997 to 2015-16 and current market value estimate of Nagraj properties :

1. A house and a plot in the posh Banjara Hills : Rs 24 crores approx. market price

2. A Flat at in Yellarddyguda  :  Rs 2 crores approx. market price

3. A  house and a plot in posh Jubilee Hills : Rs 29 crores approx. market price

4. A flat in Somajiguda, Hyderabad : Rs 1.5 crores approx. market price

5. Plots in Guttalu Begumpet (Rs 8 crores), a shop in Abids  (Rs 12 crores)and eight plots in Renga Reddy District of Andhra Pradesh ( approx. 14 crores). Approx market price

All together Rs. 90.5 crores assets approx. – so K. Nagraj can be termed as one of the richest  and 'honest' DGP in India, which explains why Tripura's 'honest' Chief Minister chosen him for the DGP Post.

Investigations revealed that Nagraj’s father and brother helped him acquire these assets.