Jagan Reddy appears before CBI court

Tell us: Is YSR’s legacy a boon or bane for Jagan?

The probe agency wants to question Jagan on the Vadarevu and Nizampatnam Ports and Industrial Corridor (VANPIC) deal in the presence of industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad and senior bureaucrat K V Brahamandna Reddy who are already under arrest.

Prasad is the promoter in the VANPIC deal and allegedly invested Rs 850 crore in the business of Jagan for land allotment made to the VANPIC project by the then YSR regime on quid-pro-quo basis.

The CBI,in its charge sheet filed against Jagan and 12 others on March 31,accused Jagan and his father of hatching a conspiracy to defraud the government with Jagan influencing his father Rajeshkara Reddy in doing out certain favours to various investors,who made investments of several crores into Jagan’s businesses as a quid-pro-quo arrangement.

The Raj Bhavan route,which leads to the guest house was barricaded and a lot of traffic restrictions were imposed there.

On Thursday,fearing arrest,Jagan filed an anticipatory bail petition in the CBI court which was rejected. Speaking from Guntur,he said the Congress was scared of him as he would sweep the bypolls. “Why such haste by the CBI? I was asked to appear by the CBI court on May 28,but now the CBI wants me to appear before it on Friday. There is a conspiracy by the state government to delay or postpone the bypolls which will be done in case there is a law and order situation if I am arrested. They want to blame me and postpone the polls,’’ he said,adding that if he was arrested,his mother and wife would campaign for his party.

Andhra Pradesh Minister for Excise and Prohibition Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao was arrested yesterday by the CBI in an alleged corruption case connected to Jagan Reddy.

Rao was the minister for Infrastructure and Investment in Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s Cabinet and is allegedly involved in allotting land to Vadarevu and Nizampatnam Port and Industrial Corridor project in which industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad was the promoter and was given 15,000 acres of land in lieu of investing in Jagan’s Sakshi newspaper. CBI officials said that Rao showed undue favours to several firms which,in turn,invested in Jagan’s business.

The minister was arrested after he appeared before the CBI for the second time on Thursday. He was questioned on Wednesday. He is the first minister to be arrested in the case relating to Jagan. After his arrest,he submitted his resignation.

Rao is one of the six ministers in the YSR government responsible for issuing 26 government orders identified by the CBI as the source of quid pro quo deals benefiting Jagan’s firms. CBI officials said Rao was booked for corruption,cheating,criminal conspiracy,criminal breach of trust by public servant,falsification of accounts.