Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Chief Minister, is facing a setback to his claims of corruption free governance as three lower rung employees in his office were arrested for graft. The individuals involved include CM’s personal secretary Dhanunjay Reddy’s attender Sitaram, and two data entry operators in the CM Peshi, Sai and Srinivas.
Additionally, a section officer named Narayana Swamy from another IAS officer’s office, his father-in-law, and an attender in the Chief Secretary’s Peshi, Abdul Razaq, were also arrested. The corruption scandal at the CMO centers around the forgery of digital signatures of high level officers to release funds through the CM relief fund and make other crucial decisions.
The arrested employees allegedly logged into the systems and approved petitions through e-filing by forging digital signatures of concerned officers. They were accused of making decisions without consulting higher officials and misusing digital signatures. The employees reportedly struck deals with petitioners, ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, and immediately processed and handed over orders once the deal was finalized.
It is believed that over hundreds of orders have been approved through this process, and Dhanunjay Reddy had knowledge of this a few months ago. The government is investigating phone conversations and bank transactions between the petitioners and the accused to uncover more details. There are also rumors that Razaq’s name is being kept confidential to protect the image of the Chief Secretary’s post. The authorities are actively working to address the situation and uphold the principles of transparency and accountability in governance.