IRTS officer arrested in 'FiberNet scam'

  Amaravati, Sep 18 (PTI): The Crime Investigation Department of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday arrested a senior IRTS officer K Sambasiva Rao in connection with the Rs 321 crore fibernet scam.<br>     Sambasiva Rao is currently the Chief Commercial Manager in the South Central Railways headquarters at Secunderabad and had previously served as Managing Director of the AP State FiberNet Limited.<br>     The CID had recently filed an FIR on the alleged irregularities in AP State FiberNet Limited, putting the sum involved at Rs 321 crore.<br>     The IRTS officer had served on deputation in AP government during the previous Chandrababu Naidu regime.<br>     The CID named him as an accused in the case and questioned him extensively in the last five days, before arresting him.<br>     He was produced before a local court that remanded him to 14-day judicial custody.<br>    The FiberNet project was meant to provide Internet and telephone services to all households in the state, as part of the Bharat Net project of the Government of India.<br>     In the FIR registered on September 9, the CID named 16 persons and two companies as the accused in the case.<br>     Citing a complaint filed by APSFL Chairman P Goutham Reddy, the CID said Vemuri Harikrishna Prasad, the then member of the e-Governance Authority governing council, colluded with Tera Software Limited to ensure the tender for Rs 321 crore was illegally awarded to the company.<br>     Prasad is also being questioned in the case, along with officials of Tera Software, CID sources said. PTI DBV<br>APR   APR

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