CBI to counter Jagan bail in SC

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CBI joint director V.V. Lakshminarayana rushed to Delhi on Tuesday to oppose the bail petition of YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in the Supreme Court. The CBI’s trump card is the withdrawal of the statement made by the personal assistant of YSR, Mr E. Suryanarayana Reddy alias Sureedu; the CBI alleges he did so under pressure. The CBI had registered a statement of Sureedu before a police official (under Section 161 CrPC) in which he testified against Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy. But he refused to repeat the statement before a magistrate (under Section 164 CrPC). This is admissible in court; retracting on the statement will amount to perjury.

The CBI intends to tell the court when the bail hearing comes up on September 28, that Sureedu retracted his earlier statement under pressure. The CBI’s contention is that if Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy was given bail he may influence witnesses. The CBI is also claiming that Sureedu went underground and was not available for investigation. He changed his mobile phone numbers too.

CBI targeting Jagan via Sureedu: YSRC
The YSR Congress said that the CBI is trying to put pressure on YSR’s personal assistant Sureedu to give a statement against Jagan Mohan Reddy and his family and added that it was all part of a political conspiracy. The party has been alleging that the CBI is trying to prevent Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy’s legal right to get bail.

The statement made by Sureedu, in his 161 CrPC statement before the CBI, said, “YSR, Jagan and his family did not have any other businesses except the barytes mines before YSR came to power.” He also said that “KVP acted as mediator to get them wealth”. He refused to repeat this in front of a magistrate.