Hyderabad, December 04: If S Amruthaiah was clever enough to change his mobile number to ensure that the investigators did not track him down through cell phone tower location, the sleuths of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) proved they were more smart.
As Amruthaiah had changed his mobile number, the sleuths managed to lay their hands on the number belonging to one of his close relative which eventualy led to Amruthaiah’s arrest.
The Managing Director of AP Vikalangula Cooperative Corporation is known to have contacts within the State Government. Amruthaiah was on the run since July 4 after the ACB raided his house.
Sources associated with the investigation disclosed to Express that soon after Amruthaiah went into hiding, the first thing he did was to change his mobile number.
For quite sometime, he stayed in a house in Warangal district and the sleuths tried their best to obtain his new mobile number but it did not materialise.
It was then they decided to get the numbers of his close relatives and friends. “One day, an anonymous person passed on a telephone number of one of his relative. Later, we came to know the anonymous person was the political opponent of Amruthaiah’s relative, who is an MLA,’’ sources said.
Besides obtaining the number, the sleuths also got another mobile number of a person known to Amruthaiah but that was not of much help.
Once the investigators began scrutinising the call details of Amruthaiah’s relative, they found one particular number in the list to which several calls had been made and received.
Enquiries about this particular number led the sleuths to Alwal. The ACB teams had fanned out across Alwal in the last few days.
Known to be a diabetic, Amruthaiah, chose to ignore the fact that he was being hunted by the ACB and set out for a morning walk today. One of the teams spotted him and followed him to the guest house where he was staying.
By afternoon, the ACB sleuths finally raided the premises and Amruthaiah was caught.
Sources said that Amruthaiah had allegedly swindled crores of rupees while working in the AP State Road Transport Corporation between 2001 and 2005. In all, he owns 57 assets.
“In fact, he was once suspended for financial irregularities during his stint in Mahaboobnagar district. But he somehow managed it,’’ an official said adding that his bank balances alone were to the tune of over Rs 70 lakh.
–Agencies