The state government’s decision to appoint IAS official T.K. Sreedevi as chairperson of a high-level committee to investigate the ₹1,400-crore GST Scam, which involves former Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, has raised eyebrows.
Sreedevi, who had previously flagged the scam while serving as Commercial Taxes Commissioner, was transferred shortly after the city police filed a case against Somesh Kumar and others. Recently, Chief Secretary A. Shanti Kumari issued orders to form the committee and outlined its objectives, though the rationale for choosing Sreedevi, now Commissioner of Scheduled Castes Development, was not disclosed.
According to sources, after her transfer, Sreedevi reportedly lobbied with higher authorities to get an opportunity to substantiate her allegations against Somesh Kumar, which led to her appointment as head of the probe committee. Sreedevi had initially approached the police following internal departmental investigations, but her new role as chairperson has given the accused grounds to challenge the previous probe as incomplete.
This decision comes two months after the state government transferred the case from the city police to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), with the Enforcement Directorate also launching its own investigation. A senior official commented that it is highly unusual for the government to appoint an officer who was transferred out of the department to investigate a fraud that occurred during their tenure, especially when another official now heads the department and the CID is already probing the case. The official suggested that, in such situations, the government would have been better off retaining Sreedevi as Commercial Taxes Commissioner and having her assist the investigating agencies.
Another controversy arose with the inclusion of R. Yedukondalu, a joint commissioner facing corruption allegations, on the probe committee. The government has asked the current Commercial Taxes Department Commissioner to investigate the allegations against Yedukondalu. Other members of the committee include Joint Commissioner E. Deepa Reddy and Nikhil Chakravarthy, Executive Director of the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation.
Sources indicated that the committee has already summoned officials and reviewed records. The committee’s mandate includes investigating the revenue losses identified in a forensic audit by C-DAC, reviewing the desk audit of cases involving masked GSTINs, and evaluating the preliminary inspection and audit findings. They are also tasked with identifying issues affecting tax revenues, tracking the audit process, and determining taxable demand. The probe will further examine the modus operandi, individuals involved, and the role of software developers.
The core allegation is that certain taxpayers were deliberately excluded from routine checks by isolating them from the software analytics. This masking process, achieved through hard coding, removed several public sector undertakings (PSUs) and state-level enterprises—such as TG Beverages Corporation, GHMC, LIC, and Metro Rail—from scrutiny.
The appointment of IAS officer T.K. Sreedevi to lead the ₹1,400-crore GST scam investigation highlights the complexities of governance and internal accountability in large-scale fraud cases. The inclusion of an officer previously involved with the case adds layers of scrutiny, particularly in maintaining transparency and public trust.
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