New Delhi, Sept. 25: A former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary facing charges of corruption and forging his father’s signature to conceal illicit wealth was arrested today.

Akhand Pratap Singh, whose fetish for fast cars and mansions put him under the glare of tax authorities and bribe busters four years ago, was caught by CBI sleuths at his farmhouse here this morning as he tried to escape through the backyard. It was the same house, in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area, where sleuths had stumbled on gold-plated taps on its sprawling lawns during a previous raid.

The accusations against Singh are many but it is his money tricks using his father’s name that earned him notoriety. In one instance, he opened a bank account in the name of his father by forging signatures and stashed away the money, allegedly made from bribes, to buy eight properties in prime areas in Delhi and Lucknow.

The ownership of these properties was later transferred to his daughters. To make sure that there were no trails of illicit funds, he forged his father’s will, the CBI said.

The investigation, since the agency registered a case against him in March 2005, has led to unearthing of 84 immovable properties in upscale areas of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Lucknow, Bahraich and Nainital.

The declared value of these properties, many of them undervalued, runs into several crores. Over 100 bank accounts, bursting with deposits, have also been found, besides investments in shares, debentures and fancy cars.

The bank account opened by forging signatures continued to be operated by Singh for 18 months after his father’s demise. CBI sources said the money laundered during this period with forged signatures could be around Rs 40 lakh.

Singh, being probed for his wealth since 2003, is accused of allowing a commercial complex to be built near Taj Mahal. But despite complaints from his IAS colleagues, no action was taken against him.

The CBI found that Singh constructed a palatial house in Lucknow on three combined plots, one of which was acquired in the name of his father and another in the name of a friend, a Delhi University professor who died later.

Forged wills were used again in these transfers, the CBI said, adding that a bank account was also opened in the name of the professor to invest in shares. The agency’s probe also threw up private limited companies, allegedly set up by Singh with family members, friends and associates named as promoters and directors.

Many assets were acquired in the names of these promoters/directors by forging signatures. These were later pledged to raise funds and loans for these companies and then used to purchase more immovable assets.

As vice-chairman of the Lucknow Development Authority in 1982, Singh is accused of having acquired in the names of various persons 10 plots against which documentary evidence, in his own handwriting, has been unearthed.

Singh paid the initial booking amounts and controlled these assets with his family members.