Formula E case: KTR and others asked to appear before ACB court on July 31

The case pertains to the alleged corruption of nearly Rs 55 crore during the previous BRS government's Formula E deal.

Hyderabad: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court on Thursday, May 14, issued summons to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao, suspended IAS officer Arvind Kumar and former HMDA chief engineer BLN Reddy in the Formula E case.

They have been asked to appear before the court on July 31.

The case pertains to the alleged corruption of nearly Rs 55 crore during the previous BRS government’s Formula E deal.

Soon after coming to power, the Congress government had claimed that KTR, during his tenure as the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Minister, allowed the transfer of Rs 55 crore from Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) to the Formula E Operations without the approval of the Cabinet.

Arvind Kumar was serving as the special chief secretary of the MAUD department at the time.

The ACB had filed a chargesheet on March 23 this year, naming KTR as accused number one, Arvind Kumar as accused number two and BLN Reddy as accused number three.

Sports consultant Govenda Kiran Malleswara Rao was named as accused number four, and Formula E Operations as accused number five.

Formula E race in Hyderabad

On February 11, 2023, the first Formula E race was held at the banks of Hussain Sagar. Following the success of this event, MAUD had entered into an agreement with Formula E Operations (FEO) for another race scheduled for February 10, 2024.

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) paid Rs 55 crore to FEO as part of this agreement, which was established during the BRS tenure.

However, FEO later announced its withdrawal from hosting the race in January 2024, citing non-compliance with the terms outlined in their agreement. At the time of the agreement, BRS was in power, while Congress was in control when FEO decided to cancel.