Formula E race case: BRS leader Rama Rao appears before ACB

Hyderabad: BRS Working President and MLA K T Rama Rao, the prime accused in the Formula E race issue, appeared before the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) here on Thursday.

Rao, also known as KTR, was summoned by the ACB for questioning in the case related to the alleged "unauthorised" payments to conduct Formula E race. His lawyer accompanied him to the ACB office.

KTR appeared before the ACB and his examination has started. The questioning is likely to take around 8 hours.

The Telangana High Court on Wednesday allowed a lawyer to accompany him to the ACB office. The court, however, made it clear that the advocate would not be present in the same room where the ACB sleuths would be examining Rao.

The advocate can sit in a room where he (the advocate) can see his client and the investigating officer and observe the proceedings, the court said.

Ahead of his appearance before the ACB, Rao said his agenda when he was minister in the previous regime was to make Hyderabad a pivotal hub for sustainable mobility as the world transitions towards it and Formula-E race was a part of that ambitious vision.

"Worked tirelessly for bringing a prestigious event to India, to enhance the Brand image of Hyderabad & Telangana globally. Agenda was to make Hyderabad a pivotal hub for sustainable mobility as the world transitions towards it. Formula-E race was a part of the effort to realise this ambitious vision," he said in a post on 'X'.

He further said the intent was to make TMV (Telangana Mobility Valley) clusters the epicentre for innovation, research and manufacturing of electric vehicles creating employment and revenue, he further said.

"Small minds who are driven by petty politics may never understand any of this, but I am confident that people of Telangana who are observing everything will understand the truth and the vision. Truth always triumphs & justice will prevail," he said.

Senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar, one of the accused in the case, appeared before the ACB on Wednesday.

High drama unfolded at the Telangana ACB headquarters on January 6 after Rao, who was summoned in connection with the ongoing investigation into the Formula E race case, was denied the assistance of his lawyer, prompting him to submit his statement outside the office.

As the BRS working president was denied the assistance of his lawyer, he refused to be questioned by the anti-graft agency and left the ACB’s office without appearing before the officials. Though he handed over his written statement intended for submission to an ACB official, outside the office. The agency had issued him a fresh notice for an appearance on January 9.

The ACB in December 2024 registered a case against Rao, who was Municipal Administration Minister during the previous BRS regime, and two others over alleged payments, most of it in foreign currency without approvals, to conduct the race in 2023 during the previous BRS regime.

The case was registered under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC dealing with criminal misappropriation, criminal misconduct, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy that allegedly resulted in a loss to the government exchequer to the tune of about Rs 55 crore.

Though the race was supposed to be held in February 2024 as well, it was cancelled after the Congress government assumed office in December 2023.