CBI adds to charges on Jagan

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The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday filed a supplementary chargesheet in Kadapa MP Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy's illegal investments case. An additional charge under Section 9 of Prevention of Corruption Act has been filed in the supplementary chargesheet against Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy. It is understood that the investigating agency has identified Rs 5.25 crore which was given to Jagan’s firms in return for favours. In the supplementary chargesheet, the investigating agency has described the role of Jagadisan & Co, a Chennai-based chartered accountancy firm which provided a valuation report of Jagati Publications.

It is alleged that Jagadisan & Co had valued Jagati Publications at Rs 139 crore earlier, when the publication was a subsidiary of Carmel Asia Holdings. But it valued the same publications at a much higher price later. The statement of Jagadisan Prabhakar has been recorded by the CBI under Section 161. In his statement, Mr Prabhakar stated that the valuation report was not done by him alone but conducted under the directions of Vijay Sai Reddy and Jagan himself.

Similarly, a statement by Harish C. Kamarthy, who was the director of Jagati Publications and of Carmel Asia, has also been recorded. It is understood that he stated that he had no role in the valuation report of Jagathi Public-ations. He also stated that Jagan had used his father, late Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy’s office when he was the Chief Minister.

The investigating agency has so far filed three chargesheets in the case. In the first chargesheet, the CBI, which named Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy and 12 individuals and firms (including Trident Life Sciences, Aurobindo Pharma and Hetero Drugs) as accused, alleged that the YSR Congress chief got firms to invest several crores into his business as part of quid pro quo deals.