No Sunday for Jagan

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The CBI questioned Kadapa MP Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in the presence of arrested industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad on Saturday, the second day of his interrogation. Apart from the Vanpic project, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy was questioned about routing black money and selling shares of Sandur Power.

The interrogation went on for seven-and-a-half hours and the Kadapa MP was asked to appear before the investigating agency again on Sunday morning. CBI joint director V.V. Lakshminarayana, SP H. Venkatesh and two other CBI officials questioned him and Mr Prasad. Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy was asked how Sandur Power Company Limited raised Rs 797 crore though it was worth only Rs 150 crore. It was pointed out that Sandur had been doing normal business before YSR became the chief minister but later sold shares to various companies and individuals at huge premiums with an objective of receiving bribes and routing the ill-gotten proceeds.

The CBI alleged that the YSR Congress chief had made fictitious transactions of selling 82 lakh shares of Sandur Power at Rs 675 a share to ZM Infotech, Nelcast Finance, Excelt Pro Soft, Sai Surya Warehousing Company and Sigma Oxygen based in Chennai. The four companies were later merged with Keelawn Technologies in which Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy had stakes. The amount paid to take over the four companies was Rs 4 crore while they together invested Rs 533 crore in Sandur power.

The Kadapa MP was asked about his business transactions before 2004 and after YSR became chief minister. Mr Prasad had invested Rs 854 crore into firms belonging to the Kadapa MP using his companies Alpha Villas and Gilchrist Investments.

Jagan grilled about Sandur cash
On the second day of his interrogation, YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was asked about the four subsidiary companies of Sandur Power Company Limited: Carmel Asia Holding Ltd, Silicon Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Krishna Power Technologies and Bhagavath Sannidhi Estates Ltd in which he was director.

Mr Prasad had purchased 21.42 lakh shares at a premium of Rs 650 per share and paid Rs 140 crore to Sandur. The CBI has alleged that in return Mr Prasad was given the Vanpic project and revision of port limits and several concessions under the Stamps and Registration Act. The CBI grilled Mr Reddy regarding alleged routing of money from Mauritius using 2I capital and Pluri. The police custody of Mr Prasad ends on Sunday and the CBI is likely to question the two together again.

On Saturday morning, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy came to Dilkusha Guest House accompanied by Congress MP Sabbam Hari, MLA Jupudi Prabhakar Rao, Congress MLA Alla Nani and Congress leader Bhuma Nagi Reddy. Asked about the possible arrest of the Kadapa MP, Mr Hari said, “We will know about it on Monday when he appears in court.” Emerging from grilling in the evening, the Kadapa MP said, “It went on peacefully. They sought clarification and clarification was given. Tomor-row I believe I have to come here again and I believe that they will ask for more clarification and the same will be given.”

Earlier, in an interview to a new channel, he said, “Four CBI officials were questioning me. There were no Enforcement Directorate officials.” When he reached home in the evening, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy met his close associates including auditor V. Vijay Sai Reddy. After a debriefing session he met his family. Mr Vijay Sai Reddy had briefed him in the morning too about the possible questions that could be posed by the CBI.