The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Telangana on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, recovered ₹7 lakh in cash from the residence of a barber employed at Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), during searches linked to a disproportionate assets (DA) case against the hospital's Additional Medical Superintendent, Dr Nori Lakshmi Bhaskar. The discovery has deepened the investigation's scope, with ACB now examining whether multiple hospital employees were acting as fronts — or 'benamis' — for the senior official.

What Investigators Found at the Barber's Home

ACB officials were simultaneously conducting searches at premises linked to five NIMS employees, one of whom is barber Dhanraj. Investigators reportedly expressed shock at finding ₹7 lakh in cash at the home of a government hospital employee whose primary duty is cutting hair. Officials are also scrutinising land documents and financial transactions connected to Dhanraj and the other suspected benamis of Dr Lakshmi Bhaskar.

The Case Against Dr Nori Lakshmi Bhaskar

The ACB arrested Dr Lakshmi Bhaskar, 56, last week after conducting searches on 22 September at his residence and seven other locations belonging to relatives, friends, benamis, and associates. A case was registered against him on the grounds that he had allegedly acquired assets disproportionate to his known sources of income through corrupt practices and dubious means during his service at the state-run hospital.

The searches uncovered assets with a declared value of approximately ₹6.13 crore, though the market value of the same assets was estimated at around ₹100 crore, according to the ACB — a striking disparity that forms the core of the case.

Scale of Assets Uncovered

Among the properties and assets identified were: one four-bedroom flat in a gated community; two triple-bedroom flats in a high-rise gated community at Kukatpally; five double-room flats at Manikonda, Petbasheerabad, and Kukatpally; and four open plots at Yadradi, Nandigama, and Shamirpet, along with one 800 square yard plot in Visakhapatnam City, Andhra Pradesh.

Financial assets recovered included bank balances of ₹41 lakh, ₹12 lakh in Post Office deposits, ₹35 lakh invested in private financial institutions, ₹29.55 lakh in mutual funds, gold ornaments weighing 517.8 grams, multiple luxury vehicles, and electronic gadgets valued at ₹5 lakh.

The Benami Angle

The investigation has taken a significant turn with the benami angle — the allegation that Dr Lakshmi Bhaskar used fellow hospital employees to hold or obscure wealth on his behalf. This is a pattern investigators note in public-sector corruption cases, where junior or unrelated staff are used to distribute assets and reduce the documentary trail leading back to the primary accused. The ACB's ongoing scrutiny of financial transactions and land documents suggests further recoveries and possibly additional arrests cannot be ruled out.

What Comes Next

The ACB is expected to continue searches and examine financial records of the five NIMS employees identified so far. Legal proceedings against Dr Lakshmi Bhaskar are at an early stage, with investigators still mapping the full extent of alleged assets. The outcome of the benami investigation could widen the net to include additional individuals connected to the case.