Former Madanapalle RDO arrested for burning revenue records

M.S. Murali, former Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) of Madanapalle, was arrested at his Tirupati residence on Friday after a local court rejected his bail plea. Accused of deliberately burning key revenue records at the Madanapalle Sub-Collector’s office, Murali had initially been granted bail by the Supreme Court. He served as RDO between October 2022 and February 2024.

The incident occurred on July 21, 2024, shortly after a government change in the State, when a major fire destroyed crucial revenue documents linked to land transactions. The Crime Investigation Department (CID), which investigated the case, concluded that the blaze was a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence. Following the cancellation of his bail on Thursday, CID officials took Murali into custody in Tirupati.