Thaindian News

Hyderabad, May 16 (IANS) A CBI court Wednesday sent leading Andhra Pradesh industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad and bureaucrat K.V. Brahmananda Reddy to judicial custody till May 30 in the case relating to alleged illegal assets of YSR Congress Party leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy.

The CBI, which arrested the duo Tuesday night, produced them before the CBI court. They were later shifted to Chanchalguda Central Jail.

The agency also moved a petition seeking 14-day custody of the accused for further interrogation. The court posted the matter for hearing Thursday.

Meanwhile, the CBI, in its remand report, alleged that Prasad invested Rs.884 crore in the companies of Jagan Reddy.

It informed the court that Prasad invested Rs.505 crore in Jagan’s businesses before the agreement over Vadrarevu and Nizampatnam Port and Industrial Corridor (Vanpic).

The CBI said it had to arrest them to prevent them from tampering with the evidence.

Prasad, popularly known as Matrix Prasad in industrial circles, is the 12th accused in the First Information Report (FIR) registered against Jagan and 72 others in August 2011.

According to the CBI, Jagan allegedly conspired with his father and then chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to extend several concessions to Prasad’s firms in a quid pro quo for the investments he made into Jagan’s business.

Prasad’s Matrix Enport and the government of Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) are the two promoters of Vanpic, a proposed world-class port and integrated industrial cluster which was allotted 15,500 acres of land by Rajasekhara Reddy’s government.

Brahmananda Reddy, the then special secretary, infrastructure and investment, was arrested for playing a key role in issuing government orders relating to the land allotments.

Both Prasad and Brahmananda Reddy have been charged with cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts.

The CBI has filed three charge sheets in the case and is likely to file four to five more.