The state government on Friday issued three confidential GOs authorising CBI officials to file an application in court for attachment of properties of firms belonging to YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, along with that of Emaar scam accused Koneru Prasad and N. Sunil Reddy.
The CBI officials will file an application in court seeking an interim order on attachment of the properties. Interestingly, the GOs were kept confidential, unlike previous GOs of attachments by the ACB and other agencies that were open to public.
The CBI sources said that the confiscation of property is related to the first chargesheet in the Jagan illegal assets case.
In the first GO, the home department authorised CBI SP Venkatesh to file an application regarding attachment of Jagati Publ-ications, Janani Infrastructure and Indira Television. It was mentioned that the properties of the-se companies are believed to be acquired illegally. The petition will be filed before the district judge of the city civil court.
In two other GOs, CBI DSP S.C. Jiani was got the nod to file the application in the court regarding the attachment of properties of Koneru Prasad and N. Sunil Reddy, accused in Emaar case.
CBI sources said that the attachment of properties was only to prevent transfer. Confiscation of the same will be ordered only if the accused is convicted. The CBI is likely to take up attachment of properties of other accused as and when the chargesheet is filed.
Prasad says he is pro-poor
Industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad, currently in the custody of the CBI, while claiming to be ‘pro-poor’, told the CBI that he took up the Vanpic project to develop the backward areas of Prakasam and Guntur districts of the proposed 28,000 acres of land.
CBI sleuths, who didn't buy his theory, asked him why then did he sell shares to Navayuga Engineering and try to pull out of the deal if he was so concerned about the development of a backward area.
The CBI said that Rs 10 rupee shares were sold many times over to Navayuga. The CBI grilled Mr Prasad and IRAS official Brahm-ananda Reddy at the Dilkusha Guest House on Friday, their first day in police custody. They were later shifted back to Chanchalaguda jail.
CBI investigations found that the project was given on a government-to-government basis, avoiding the tender process as it was stated that the Ras-Al-Khaima authorities had the expertise to take up the project. But Navay-uga Engineering was brought in, in the name of technical expertise.
The equity of RAK was decreased to 26 per cent and the entry of Navayuga facilitated.
The CBI asked Mr Prasad regarding mediation between Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy and industrialists like I. Shyam Prasad Reddy and Ram-alinga Raju regarding investments routed through him.
The CBI also found fault with Mr Prasad and the YSR government for delinking the industrial corridor from the twin ports project.