ED conducts raids in Telangana sheep-distribution 'scam' case

Hyderabad, Jul 30 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at multiple locations in Hyderabad on Wednesday as part of a money-laundering probe into a sheep rearing and distribution "scam" worth crores of rupees that allegedly took place in Telangana during the previous BRS regime, official sources said.

At least eight locations in the city related to beneficiaries and alleged middlemen involved in the scam, including the premises of G Kalyan, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to former BRS minister (animal husbandry and fisheries) Talasani Srinivasa Yadav, were covered as part of the operation conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.

The probe stems from a Telangana Police Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) FIR of December 2023. The ACB arrested four government officers in February 2024.

The Sheep Rearing Development Scheme (SRDS) was launched by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government in the southern state in April 2017 to provide a sustainable livelihood to shepherd families and boost their income.

The sources said the ED has found that though the "proceeds of crime" (illicit funds), according to the FIR, amounted to only Rs 2.1 crore, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has pegged the loss to the state government at crores of rupees.

The CAG report for the period ending in March 2021 found several "irregularities" in the implementation of the flagship SRDS like non-maintenance of beneficiary-wise details, improper record pertaining to transportation invoices and payments, payments against invoices containing registration numbers that are either fake or of passenger vehicles or non-transport vehicles, duplicate tags allotted to sheep units etc., the sources said.

Allegations related to sheep units allotted to "dead or non-existent" persons are also being probed by the federal agency, they said.

The CAG audit report is limited to only seven districts (of the 33 in Telangana), whereas the estimated loss to the state government is pegged at Rs 253.93 crore, the ED has found.

However, on a proportionate basis for all the 33 districts in the state, the loss is likely to exceed Rs 1,000 crore. The ED is probing these allegations and will arrive at a conclusion post the investigation, the sources said. PTI NES RC