Over 65 Lakh Cash, 3 Kg Gold Seized From Telangana Official's Home After She Was Caught Taking Bribe

Over 3.6 kgs of gold ornaments worth Rs 1.51 crore, Rs 65.5 lakh in cash and several property documents were seized on Tuesday from the house of an executive engineer attached to Telangana’s Tribal Welfare Engineering department. The development comes a day after she was arrested by the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly taking a bribe at her office in Hyderabad.

According to the ACB, an action against the accused official, identified as K Jaga Jyothi, was initiated following a complaint from an individual who accused her of demanding a bribe of Rs 84,000 from the complainant for an official favour.

In continuation of the trap, ACB conducted searches at the residence of the accused officer where they found the cash, gold and property documents pertaining to open plots and agricultural land, the agency said in an official release.

The items were seized and will be part of a probe against the official, sources in the agency said, adding that the case is under investigation.

In a swift operation, ACB caught K Jaga Jyothi in the act of receiving the specified bribe amount. The operation was captured on camera, a video of which went viral on social media.

In the video, K Jaga Jyothi can be seen crying after being caught receiving the bribe.

As per ACB,  the right-hand fingers of K Jaga Jyothi tested positive in the phenolphthalein test.

The ACB said K Jaga Jyothi performed her duty improperly and dishonestly to obtain undue advantage. The bribe amount was also recovered from the possession of the accused official.

The executive engineer was arrested and will be produced before the Principal Special Judge for SPE and ACB Cases Court at Hyderabad.

Further investigation is underway.

What Is the Phenolphthalein Test?

In the phenolphthalein test, phenolphthalein powder and anthracene powder are used by anti-corruption agencies, to trace the exchange of currency between two individuals, as it signifies the acceptance of the currency.

When the phenolphthalein compound breaks down, it turns pink.

For the test, the probe agencies lace the currency notes or documents with phenolphthalein powder.

When the accused touches the marked bills or documents, traces of the chemical stick to their hands.

So when the accused hands are exposed to a mild base, the phenolphthalein on their hand turns pink.