Former Tahsildar of Keesara mandal on Hyderabad outskirts, Erva Balraju Nagaraju, who was lodged in Chanchalguda prison in a corruption case, ‘ended his life’ by hanging himself in the early hours of Tuesday.
Mr. Nagaraju had been at Chanchalguda central prison for the past two months following his arrest by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials on this August 14. They seized ₹1.10 crore from his possession after raiding his house then. That sum was the bribe he received to favour some persons about the ownership of 28 acres of agricultural land in Rampally Dayara village of Keesara in Medchal Malkajgiri district.
Dabeerpura police, who registered a case under Section 176 of the Criminal Procedure Code, said the prison authorities found Nagaraju hanging to the window grill of a barrack around 4 a.m. “Other inmates of the barrack were asleep. A towel wrapped around his neck was found,” Dabeerpura Inspector Satyanarayana said. The former tahsildar was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.
Chanchalguda prison superintendent Srinivasulu did not respond to repeated calls on his mobile phone for further details. Nagaraju’s body was handed over to his family after performing autopsy at Osmania General Hospital morgue. Nagaraju was arrested along with two civilians and Rampur village revenue assistant Bongu Sairaj on August 14. While they came out on bail, the suspended ‘revenue officer’ was confined to prison as the ACB sleuths slapped a second case against him.
Five private persons and computer operator of Keesara Tahsil office were also arrested in the second case. This case was registered against him following a report filed by Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) department. He was accused of illegally mutating 96.28 acres of land belonging to some persons to one Dharma Reddy and three of his family members.
In the first case, ACB sleuths took him into custody for further questioning. In the second case also, they secured his custody for three days from the court. On Monday, he was taken to ACB office for questioning and sent back to prison. He was supposed to be questioned on Tuesday and Wednesday.
