ED raids multiple locations in Hyderabad in sheep rearing scam worth over ₹1,000 crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids across eight locations in Hyderabad on Wednesday (July 30) in alleged scam related to Sheep Rearing Development Scheme (SRDS). The agency believed that the scam was spread across Telangana, having worth over ₹1,000 crore. 

The raids were conducted on the locations of the alleged middlemen and beneficiaries who were identified through a money trail in the investigation, ED sources said.

The sheep rearing scheme was started in 2017 under the government of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party-led by K Chandrashekar Rao.

The locations of ED searches included premises linked to G Kalyan, who was an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to former BRS minister Talasani Srinivasa Yadav, as per news agency PTI. Kalyan is named as an accused in the FIR filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), as per The Times of India (TOI).

As per the First Information Report (FIR) filed in the matter, the amount of the proceeds of crime has been found to be standing at ₹2.1 crore. However, a CAG report audit report expects the scam to involve hundreds of crores.  

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A CAG report from March 2021 found a number of irregularities in the matter, such as not keeping a record of the individual beneficiaries of the Sheep Rearing Scheme, recording false invoices related to transportation, payments to vehicles having non-commercial registration number, along with allotting the sheep units to dead or non-existing individuals, among others.

The CAG report was limited to only seven districts which estimated the loss of ₹253.93 crore to the Telangana government. However, it is expected to be worth over ₹1,000 crore across all the 33 districts of the state. 

The ED has found key documents and digital records in its investigation. The agency believed that the scam to have been spread across the state.

The SRDS is one of the key animal husbandry schemes introduced by the Telangana government under which units of sheep are provided to the eligible beneficiaries. Over 75% of the subsidy support was provided by the government, while aiming to supply 20 sheep and one ram (male sheep, for reproduction) per unit to the families, as per TOI.

The scheme was introduced to promote self-employment in the state but became a tool for corruption and embezzling money.

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(Edited by : Priyanka Rathi)