ACB Searches NIMS Staffer’s Home for ₹7 Lakh Cash in Expanding Disproportionate Assets Probe

The latest searches are part of the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau’s investigation into former NIMS Additional Medical Superintendent Nori Lakshmi Bhasker, whose alleged assets are already under scrutiny.

The Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday recovered ₹7 lakh in cash from the residence of a barber employed at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), as investigators widened their probe into an alleged disproportionate-assets case involving the hospital’s former Additional Medical Superintendent, Dr Nori Lakshmi Bhasker.

The searches were carried out at premises linked to five NIMS employees, according to the latest report. Investigators are examining whether some employees allegedly acted as benamis—individuals through whom assets may have been held on behalf of another person. The ACB is also examining land documents and financial transactions connected to those employees.

The development follows searches conducted earlier in September at Bhasker’s residence in Erragadda and seven other locations linked to relatives, associates and alleged benamis.

What has the ACB found so far?

The ACB previously reported assets with a documented value of approximately ₹6.13 crore in the case. These included documents relating to multiple residential flats and open plots in and around Hyderabad, as well as property in Visakhapatnam.

The properties listed by investigators include:

• One 4BHK flat
• Two 3BHK flats
• Five 2BHK flats
• Open plots in Yadadri, Nandigama and Shamirpet
• An approximately 800-square-yard plot in Visakhapatnam

The ACB also identified bank balances, post-office deposits, investments and mutual funds, along with approximately 517.8 grams of gold ornaments and several vehicles, including a Jaguar and an Audi.

The agency has alleged that Bhasker acquired assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. It has also alleged that he invested ₹1.30 crore in a property involved in a Debt Recovery Tribunal dispute and extended ₹1.33 crore in hand loans to various people.

Importantly, these remain allegations under investigation and are not a finding of guilt. The ACB says verification of additional assets and transactions is continuing.

Why this matters to Hyderabad

NIMS is one of Hyderabad’s major government healthcare institutions, making developments involving its senior administration particularly significant for the city.

But the latest development also raises a broader question for Hyderabad: how does an investigation into one senior official establish whether assets allegedly held through other people are actually connected to the accused?

That is now one of the key issues investigators appear to be examining as they trace property documents, cash and financial transactions involving people connected to the case.

For GAWAH, that is the more useful story than simply repeating the list of properties: the investigation is widening from the official himself to the financial network around him.

What happens next?

The ACB is expected to continue examining property records, financial transactions and the relationship between the assets discovered and the accused official’s known sources of income.

The ₹7 lakh recovery from the NIMS barber’s residence is therefore a development within an ongoing investigation, rather than a separate corruption case established against that employee. The significance of the recovery will depend on what investigators establish about its source and its connection, if any, to the wider case.