Hyderabad: The sleuths of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) booked 13 disproportionate assets (DA) cases in less than six months this year, unearthing assets worth over ₹87 crore. In comparsion, the ACB registered 15 DA cases last year, involving assets worth more than ₹90 crore. However, according to officials, the current market value of the assets seized in the 13 cases is estimated to be around ₹400-₹500 crore.While trap cases help catch corrupt govt officials red-handed, most of those arrested are lower-or mid-level officials who do not use sophisticated methods to strike deals in exchange for corrupt practices. High-level officials allegedly involved in corruption are more often booked through DA cases. Of the 13 officials booked in DA cases this year, seven belong to the revenue department, each from municipal administration and urban development and the prohibition and excise, one each from home, roads and buildings departments.Of the ₹87 crore assets unearthed by the ACB, the highest individual amount of ₹19.94 crore was allegedly linked to R&B engineer-in-chief Mohan Naik. He was followed by S Narahari, deputy director, survey and land records (₹17 cr); K Madhusudhan Reddy, joint sub-registrar (₹7.8 cr); A Venkat Reddy, additional collector (₹7.7 cr); Vamsi Mohan, deputy collector (₹6.22 cr); N Bhujanga Rao, additional SP (₹5.92 cr); Ananta Laxmi Kumar, GM of HMWS&SB (₹5.88 cr); T Sucharitha, tehsildar (Rs 5.05 cr); K Sravan Kumar, tehsildar (₹4 cr); K Malla Reddy, district prohibition and excise officer (₹3 cr); D Anand, sub-registrar (₹1.94 cr); P Jagan Mohan, deputy director, country and town planning (₹1.33 cr) and G Ramu, Prohibition and Excise Inspector (Rs 87.4 Lakh).While DA cases have seen a significant rise this year, the number of trap cases has been slightly lower than during the corresponding period last year. In 2025, the ACB registered 158 trap cases, while 62 such cases have been booked so far this year. In these cases, officials were allegedly caught demanding and accepting bribes in return for official favours.“The cuurent market value of the assets unearthed in the 13 DA cases is estimated to be between Rs 400 and Rs500 crore. This year, the focus has been on catching the big fish through DA cases, which require a lot of manpower. As a result, the number of trap cases is slightly lower compared to last year,” said an ACB official.
