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Hegde in Favour of CBI Probe Into Illegal Mining

Former Karnataka Lokayukta justice Santhosh Hegde favoured handing over the probe into illegal mining in the state to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He affirmed that, Karnataka former minister Gali Janardhan Reddy owned Obulapuram Mining Company indulged in such activity. However, justice Hegde told that the arrest of Janardhan Reddy was not a result of the illegal mining report that he submitted to the Government as Lokayukta on July 27. In this context, he noted that Karnataka government has not given permission to CBI to conduct a probe into the matter, adding, Reddy's arrest is a result of sanction given by Andhra Pradesh in connection with some irregularities. "The Obulapuram Mining Company people may deny many times that they have indulged in illegal mining. But we (in the Lokayukta report) have said they did engage in that through documents we produced," Hegde said. He said the probe into the entire illegal mining issue in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh should be handed over to CBI. "I am of that opinion. Even investigation in Karnataka should be given to CBI," added Hegde.

CBI Found 30 Kg. Gold, 4.5 Cr Cash in Reddys Houses

The CBI on Monday arrested Karnataka mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy and his brother-in-law Obulapuram Mining Company MD Srinivas Reddy on the charges of illegal mining. Janardhana Reddy has been arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating after conducting raids on his Bellary residence. Srinivas Reddy, the managing director of Obulapuram Mining Corporation (OMC) which is owned by Janardhan Reddy brothers, has also been arrested. The CBI recovered 30 kg gold and Rs 3 crore cash from Janardhana Reddy's residence and Rs 1.5 crore cash from Srinivas Reddy in the raids conducted at their residences on Monday. The arrests have been made under a 2009 FIR under sections of criminal conspiracy and cheating and also prevention of corruption act. An FIR was registered in 2009 after the Supreme Court appointed Central Empowered Committee wrote a letter against the Obulapuram Mining Company. The CBI team led by its DIG, VV Lakshminarayana entered Janardhana Reddy's house late on Sunday night and escorted him to an undisclosed location for questioning, sources said. Both the Reddys have been taken to the CBI court in Hyderabad and will be produced at around 4 pm. The CBI is likely to demand for 15 days of custody of the duo.      

CBI Arrests Gali Janardhan Reddy For Illegal Mining

After conducting raids on the premises of mining baron from Karnataka Gali Janardhan Reddy, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested him. Srinivas Reddy, the managing director of Bellary Mining Corporation and Mr Janardhana Reddy's brother-in-law, was also been arrested along with him. The CBI is investigating alleged illegal mining operations in the Reddy brothers' Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) in Andhra Pradesh. Janardhana Reddy, along with his brothers Karunakara and Somashekara, owns the Obulapuram mining company. The brothers are not just billionaires and mining barons with huge influence in their area, but are also powerful politicians. A 10-member CBI team raided the house of Janardhana Reddy in Bellary and office in Bangalore, and Srinivas Reddy's house in Bangalore. Sources say they were taken away by the CBI team with police escort. The Reddys are accused of mining far beyond the 25.9 hectares their company was allowed to mine in. The CBI alleges the Reddys mined deep into the Bellary Reserve forest area - which includes portions of both, Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh and Bellary in Karnataka. The CBI says the Reddys have violated the state borders, including allegedly blasting the Sugulamma Devi temple on the border, which was a landmark. Obulapuram Minining Company is in Andhra Pradesh along the Karnataka border, though the company's main office is in Bellary, the iron-ore rich district of Karnataka, about 300 km from Bangalore.

Reason Behind Naidu's Assets Declaration

In a strategic move to quell searching questions over his wealth, the Telugu Desam president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Friday made public a list of his and his family's assets. The TD chief, who entered politics along with YSR in 1978, shot two birds with one stone by declaring his assets. Naidu, who rallied behind Anna Hazare's anti-corruption crusade, found himself in a spot when leaders of various parties and civil society demanded that he make public his own assets. By doing so he hopes to silence his critics who accuse him of amassing illegal wealth starting with two acres of land in his native village to a whopping 2,000 crore. It also elevates his integrity in comparison with the YSR Congress chief, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is facing charges of corruption and for having amassed illegal wealth with the support of his late father. However, Babu's 'open' declaration of assets drew both appreciation and criticism alike. Laxmi Parvathi, Mr Naidu's mother-in law alleged that Mr Naidu's total assets would be over 5,000 cr. "He is a great actor. Even if 20 Oscars are presented, it is less. Lokesh got Studio-N as gift after Mr Naidu formalised Jr NTR's marriage," she said. She added that mafia don Dawood Ibrahim was involved in the Naidu property dispute in Singapore. The TRS and the YSR Congress alleged that Mr Naidu has highly undervalued his properties. They wanted him to face a CBI probe. Dr Shravan, TRS leader, said, "Mr Naidu declared the value of his house in 1998 at 1.5 crore and now he says it's worth only 23.20 lakh. Did not Mr Naidu provide a Cabinet berth to Mr Bolla Buliramaiah at the Centre for investing in Heritage Foods? Murali Mohan was made chairman of the AP Film Development Corporation. Mohan Babu got an MP seat," he said. Incidentally, in the past, Mr. Naidu too faced corruption charges, which are still persisting. Naidu has been accused of providing cabinet berth to Bolla Bulliramaiah, who invested in Heritage Foods, owned by Naidu's wife Bhuvaneswari. During Naidu's tenure as chief minister, one of the ministers in his cabinet, Krishna Yadav was involved in Rs. 32000 crore fake stamp paper racket. Naidu government also obtained stay over justice Somasekhara commission, that was probing the Yeleru Scam. Telugu Desam senior leaders Thummala Nageswara Rao and Mandava Venkateswara Rao got HC stay against ACB court finding prima facie evidence of irregularities in the Rs. 513 crore liquor purchases.  

Chandrababu Sets New Trend: Declares Assets

Claiming that he is setting a new trend in politics, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday declared his and his families assets that stand at Rs 39.88 crore. This includes about Rs 40 lakh of his assets and the remaining being that of his wife Bhuvaneshwari, son Lokesh and daughter-in-law Brahmani. According to the declaration made by Naidu, he had spent Rs 23 lakh in constructing the Jubilee Hills residence, a piece of land in Chittoor and his Ambassador car account for the reminder of his Rs 40 lakh assets. He raised a loan from Vijaya Bank for constructing the house and that the house is still under mortgage as he is still repaying the EMIs. His wife Bhuvaneswari owns a building spread over 650 square yards of land at Punjagutta and another five acre of cultivable land at Madinaguda in Serilingampally on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Of the total family assets of Rs 39.88 cr, the lion's share belong to his wife and daughter of NTR, Bhuvaneswari. She has investments worth Rs 19.95 cr in Heritage Foods, Rs 13.77 cr in Nirvana Holdings and Rs 98 lakh in Heritage Agro-Marine Pvt Ltd. Naidu's son Lokesh has assets of Rs.6.73 crore including an 8.4 acre land in Maharashtra, a 3.17 acre piece of land in Hubli, Karnataka, and investments worth Rs 2.52 crore in different listed companies. Daughter-in-law Brahmani has a total of Rs 3.22 crore assets that includes an advance of Rs 1.15 cr given for a plot in Emaar Hills Township Pvt Ltd which is now under the CBI scanner. Naidu's family holds a stake of little over 48.2 per cent in Heritage Foods, which is said to be worth more than Rs 250 crore as per market capitalization of the company. While making the declaration, Mr. Naidu said "I am setting a new trend in politics. In fact it was the Telugu Desam Party which had started the assets declaration in 1999. It was only in 2003 that the same was included in the Representation of the People's Act. We have been submitting details of our assets every five years. Now, I have made public the assets of all my family members as well. I hope that the other politicians will follow this model." Reacting to allegations that Naidu owns a hotel in Singapore and a township in Malaysia, the TDP chief said if anybody can prove the same, he would hand over the same assets to them for free.          

Jagan Case: Money Routed Through Ghost Companies

The CBI sleuths from Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai have informed the CBI special court here that they could not find any one in the specified addresses of several companies in their respective cities that were shown as investors in Jagathi publications and other companies of Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. Several companies, though not seemingly sound, had invested crores of rupees in the Jagan companies. The Hyderabad zonal authorities of the CBI, who are heading the probe in the Jagan assets case, gave authorization to the CBI sleuths elsewhere to verify and inform the status of the companies based at Kolkata, Rajkot, Mumbai, Noida, Gurgaon etc under the relevant provisions of the CrPC. These authoroities reportedly told the CBI special court at Hyderabad that the companies at Kolkata Artillegence Bio Innovations Ltd, Howrah, Delton Exim Pvt Ltd, Kirti Electro systems, Howrah, Moon Enterprisies Ltd of Mumbai and Stocknet International Ltd of Howrah. Ispat Sheets company of Delhi and several companies surrounding Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon were found to be floated only for the purpose of investing in Jagan companies.  

Jagan, Emaar Cases: ED Files FIR

Based on the FIR issued by the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday registered Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIR), the equivalent of the police First Information Report (FIR), in the Jagan assets and APIIC-Emaar cases. This would enable the ED to investigate the accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. It is however not known whether all the accused in the CBI FIR have been named in the ECIR or whether some will not be investigated for money laundering. It is understood the ECIRs were approved by the ED headquarters in New Delhi before being registered on Tuesday. The Hyderabad wing of the ED had sent the ECIRs to New Delhi for approval a week ago. Apart from the money-laundering charges, the accused in the ECIRs can also be booked under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). There are 74 accused individuals and entities in the Jagan assets case FIR filed by CBI and this includes Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. There are seven accused in the APIIC-Emaar case. Meanwhile, the state government is all set to create a nodal cell to coordinate with the CBI in the two cases which is likely to be headed by principal secretary, general administration department (GAD), Ajay Mishra. A decision to this effect was taken on Tuesday after CBI joint director V V Lakshminarayana called on chief secretary and sought files pertaining to the two cases from the state government. Since the files related to at least seven departments including revenue, irrigation, industries, infrastructure, IT & communication and APIIC, the CBI wanted a nodal cell to be constituted as it would make their investigation an easier task. On questioning about arrests, the CBI joint director V V Laxminarayana was evasive. However, CBI sources said the joint director would require a clearance from New Delhi before effecting any arrests including that of Jaganmohan Reddy. "There is a process to the investigation which begins with the registration of the FIR, search and seizure operation and scrutiny of the documents before the issue of arrests can be taken up. Since there are scores of documents to be scrutinized in both the cases, this process itself will take some time," a CBI official said. The Enforcement Directorate's entry in the scene means seizure of all properties of the accused, including bank accounts, making it difficult for the accused firms to continue their businesses. Once an FIR is issued, it's mandatory for the Enforcement Directorate to file a chargesheet within 150 days. On conviction, the accused may get a minimum sentence of three years and a maximum of seven years with a fine of 5 lakh.  

Congress Eagerly Awaits Jagan's Arrest

The ruling party in the state is eagerly awaiting YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's arrest, which looks imminent in the wake of the ongoing probe in to his assets case by the CBI. Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar is yet to act upon the resignations submitted by 26 Congress MLAs in support of YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy. And the Congress is hoping that arrest of Jagan takes place prior to the Speaker makes his move. The Congress strategy is that if there is no movement on the resignations issue till the arrest of the YSR Congress chief, some of the 26 MLAs may have second thoughts and withdraw their resignations. "With the CBI going strong on the Jagan assets case with its search and seizure operations, the arrest of the YSR son at this stage would mean he is in for a long haul with regard to the case. With their leader caught in the legalities of the case, which can stretch for months if not years, we are hoping that it would dawn on the Jagan loyalist Congress MLAs that they are backing the wrong horse," said Congress sources. In sync with the notions of Congress, five of the 26 MLAs who submitted their resignations in support of Jagan are reportedly talking to PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana and requesting him to give them some time to come back to the party fold. They are learnt to have explained to the PCC chief that they will face resistance in their constituencies if they stop backing Jagan and return to the Congress. "They are facing problems in their constituencies. So, we want to give them some more time to shift their loyalities. Given the time, they will be able to persuade their cadre that it is in their best interests to sail with the Congress," said a senior minister. With regard to the four Congress MLAs who are facing disqualification charges, the Speaker will take a decision after talking to them sometime next week. After that, he would focus on the resignations of TDP rebel MLAs Nagam Janardana Reddy and others who have submitted their resignations on the Telangana issue. "On the whole, it would take another fortnight before the Speaker can take up the case of the resignations of the 26 Congress MLAs," said the sources. According to sources in the Speaker's office, with regard to those MLAs facing disqualification charges, the Speaker will give them the option of submitting their resignation in lieu of initiating the disqualification process. Given the choice, these MLAs, including Prasanna Kumar Reddy, Bala Nagi Reddy (both from TDP), Srikanth Reddy, Amarnath Reddy, Konda Sureka and Adi Narayana Reddy (from Congress) will prefer to submit their resignations rather than end up being disqualified, the sources added.  

Vijayamma May Take up Odarpu Yatra

In case of CBI arresting her son Jagan Mohan Reddy, YSR widow Vijayamma might opt for continuing Odarpu Yatra in his place, say the sources. Vijayamma joined her son on the 14th day of his yatra in Krishna district accompanied by Jagan loyalist MLAs, G Srikanth Reddy and Adinarayana Reddy. Though it was speculated that she would join her son in Odarpu Yatra and participate in public meetings, the YSR party sources maintained that she was there only to bless him on his marriage anniversary (28-08-11). It is not yet clear whether she would join her son in the Odarpu yatra and participate in the public meetings. But two things make her participation imminent, say the observers. Firstly, Jagan Mohan Reddy has been suffering from severe sore throat and cold for the past few days as he was addressing meetings in rain and till late in the nights. Doctors also have cautioned him against continuing the tour. Secondly, the CBI which is investigating into the alleged large scale corruption by Jagan and associates, may at any moment round him up for questioning.

Bypolls: A Congress Strategy to Target Jagan

The fate of 26 MLAs loyal to Y S Jaganmohan Reddy who have resigned in protest over 'witch-hunting' of YSR family by the Congress, is still to be decided by Speaker Nadendla Manohar. Even though the ruling Congress has already started preparing its cadres for the bypolls. Sources said top leaders of north coastal Andhra districts have been sounded by the leadership to identify leaders who can take on Jagan loyalist MLAs in the event of a bypoll. MLAs Golla Babu Rao (Payakaraopet), Dharmana Krishna Das (Narasannapet) and Korle Bharathi (Tekkali) in Srikakulam district were among the 26 who had quit in protest. The job to identify a suitable candidate for the Payakaraopet assembly constituency has been given to minister P Balaraju and MLC D V Suryanarayana Raju, besides Visakhapatnam DCC president Thota Nagesh, party insiders said. Also, as part of efforts to blunt the Jagan factor in the region, Congress has roped in senior leaders for whirlwind visits to East Godavari district where a majority of Congress MLAs have joined the Jagan bandwagon. Apart from PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayna, minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy and Anakapalli MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao have rushed to East Godavari on a two-day visit to meet the district Congress leaders and dissident groups. "The party leadership is using the services of Ramnarayana Reddy, Satyanarayana and Srinivasa Rao to influence the cadres of Reddy and Kapu communities in East Godavari," a source said. The PCC chief would be meeting the Speaker in a couple of days and submit a representation urging him to disqualify the Jagan loyalist MLAs, except the three from Telangana, as these MLAs (non-Telangana) have also resigned from the party membership. "This clause would help the Speaker in considering their disqualification. If anyone seeks disqualification of the Telangana legislators - Jayasudha, Konda Surekha and Kunju Satyavati - it would put the Speaker in a spot as he has to accept the resignations of all the MLAs who quit in support of separate Telangana. So, the Congress leadership would not seek the resignations of the three Jagan loyalist MLAs from T as they have not resigned from the Congress membership," a source said.

Speaker's Action-plan Against Jagan-loyal MLAs

According to sources, the AP Assembly Speaker Mr. Nadendla Manohar is ready to take action against the 29 Jaganmohan Reddy loyalist Congress MLAs who submitted their resignations last week. As a first step, the Speaker will dispose of the disqualification petition that the ruling party moved against 4 legislators for anti-party activities. The state Congress party has filed a petition to the speaker several weeks ago seeking the disqualification of the four MLAs on the grounds that they were defying the party and openly sailing with the YSR Congress chief. They are Konda Surekha, C Adinarayana Reddy, G Srikanth Reddy and A Amaranth Reddy. Except for Surekha who is from Warangal district, the remaining three are from Kadapa, the native district of Jagan. Sources in the speaker's office told that Manohar will take a decision on these four MLAs in the next couple of days, before taking up the issue of the remaining 25 MLAS, who put in their resignations last week. "If the speaker does disqualify them from the assembly, it will be a big blow to the Jagan camp," said sources. Apart from the Congress, the TDP has also filed disqualification petitions against its MLAs Nallapureddy Prasanna Kumar Reddy and Bali Nagi Reddy, both of whom got elected on the TDP ticket but shifted their loyalty to Jagan. Sources in the speaker's office said the speaker will take up the TDP petitions after finalizing his decision on the Congress MLAs. But before Manohar takes up the resignations of the remaining 25 Congress MLAs, he would have to dispose of the resignations submitted by the four TDP rebel MLAs, Nagam Janaradan Reddy, K Hareeswara Reddy, Jogu Ramanna and Venugopala Chary. After examining their resignation letters, if they are in the prescribed format, they will be dispose of at the earliest. "Since the TDP rebels are creating problems, the speaker wants to clear their case at the earliest," said the sources. Only after all these petitions are dealt with would the speaker take up the issue of the 25 Jagan loyalist Congress MLAs. However, with regard to the resignations submitted by all the 11 TRS MLAs for the second time after their first ones were rejected, the speaker is likely to turn them down again as they had only faxed them the letters and not submitted them in person and in the prescribed format.    

More Trouble in Store For Jagan

On one hand, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is facing CBI investigation into the investments made in his companies, while on the other, now Enforcement Directorate is also gearing up to quiz him over the quid pro quo issue. As per the sources, the income tax authorities are believed to have informed the CBI sleuths that as per their own investigation, a quid pro quo arrangement existed by which several firms pumped money into the companies floated by Jagan in return for land allotments that he could manage because his father was the chief minister at that time. This information was passed on to them when the CBI authorities visited Aayakar Bhavan, the I-T headquarters, in Hyderabad on Thursday, as top sources told. Quoting from a report, the I-T authorities told the CBI that "it can be construed that the investors who have paid a huge premium amount (in the companies floated by Jagan) did so due to some form of benefit derived or a hope for benefit to be derived in future by association with the key management personnel who was son of the late chief minister of Andhra Pradesh." After concluding this, the I-T department served notices on some of the investor companies like Matrix, Aurobindo Pharma, Hetero Group, Ramky and Pennar group of companies and collected their version on the investments. The statements recorded by the I-T wing from Matrix disclosed that "two of Matrix group companies were awarded Voderevu and Nizampatnam port and industrial corridor (Vanpic) project by government of AP." Similarly, Aurobindo Pharma director K Prasada Reddy disclosed that "I have not received any government projects but our family related group concern Aurobindo Pharma was allotted SEZ land in Mahbubnagar." With regard to Hetero Drugs Limited, its director G Srinivasa Reddy confessed to I-T department that "we have applied and been allotted 75 acres of land on a lease basis for a period of 33 years by APIIC at Polepally village, Mahbubnagar district, in Special Economic Zone developed by APIIC for establishment of formulation units." The investigation carried out on Jagathi Publications, the publishers of Sakshi newspaper, by I-T department with the help of Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and New Delhi offices has given rise to doubts over the genuineness of the investments. Accordingly the I-T department slapped a notice on Jagati Publications to pay Rs 122.78 crore. According to the I-T report, "The very fact that Jagati Publications is suffering huge losses (cumulative loss as on 31/03/2010 was put at Rs 31.84 crore) and consequently the share capital has been substantially eroded, clearly indicate that the valuation reports were unrealistic, over optimistic and not based on real appreciation of the facts." The report also pointed that "It is very important to note that all the fixed properties including land and buildings of Jagati are owned by other associate concern i.e. Janani Infrastructure Pvt.Limited (JIPL) and not the assessee company, Jagati Publications Pvt Ltd. Jagati only owns plant and machinery, which has also undergone substantial depreciation as on date, eroding wealth of the investors." The detailed investigation done by income tax officials in several states has now come as a major source of information to the CBI. "The I-T report also cross checked all the details about investor companies and found that several are bogus. This will be crucial information for us," said sources in the CBI.

Jagan, Emaar Cases: CBI Starts Interrogation

With the completion of search and seizure of documents  from all 91 locations in the country, the CBI started its interrogations in the Jagan, Emaar Properties cases. The CBI had formed six divisions each headed by one DIG to pursue the task of interrogation. CBI joint director V V Lahminarayana told that they have also procured few more searches and seizure warrants from the CBI designated court to probe the money laundering and quid pro quo charges on Jaganmohan Reddy. In all eight special task teams were functioning - seven for Jagan and one for Emaar case.  Five DIGs of the CBI from Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Visakhapatnam have been roped into the probe. The multi-disciplinary investigation team (MDIT) of CBI continued to digitise the documents seized during searches last week at the residences and offices of Jagan and investors. The MDIT is analysing the bank accounts, income tax returns and other financial transactions. It is likely to call more people for questioning before starting collection of evidence. The CBI on Wednesday began questioning Principal Secretary (Home) B P Acharya and 12 others in two cases relating to the assets of Jagan and irregularities in Emaar project. Acharya, an IAS official, was managing director of Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) when Emaar diluted APIIC's equity in the joint venture, causing huge loss to the state exchequer. The CBI officials were also questioning 12 others including representatives of Jagati Publications owned by Jaganmohan Reddy and the other firms which invested in his businesses.    

CBI to Make Arrests in Jagan, Emaar Cases

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the financial misdeeds alleged to have been committed by Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, has a huge task as it has listed out instances of quid pro quo investments spanning five years between 2004 and 2009 when his father, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, was the chief minister. According to the CBI, most of the money was disguised and routed through purchase of shares in various holding companies floated by Jagan, namely Sandur Power Limited, Carmel Asia Holdings Private Limited, Silicon Builders Private Limited, Jagathi Publications Private Limited, Indira Television Private Limited and Bharathi Cements Corporation Limited. Jagan owes his growth in personal networth and investments post 2004 to some of these companies. Coming to Jagan's companies, the FIR quoting the petitioners alleged that Sandur Power that runs a 22.5 Mw hydel power plant in Karnataka has been used by him to pump in his corrupt money. “While its total worth could not have been more than Rs 150 crore, its shares were sold to various companies and persons at huge premiums with the objective of receiving bribes and routing the illegal wealth,” it said. Nimmagadda Prasad, whose company is involved with Vanpic, a huge port-cum-industrial corridor project, alone paid Rs 140 crore to Sandur Power by purchasing shares at a premium of Rs 650 per share. A total of Rs 797 crore was allegedly raised by Jagan in Sandur Power, some of which came from a couple of Mauritius companies currently non-existent, according to the FIR. Apart from this, Prasad, Sridhar, Penna group and India Cements among others have made investments in Carmel Asia Holdings Private Limited, a holding company of Sandur Power, by subscribing to the shares at a huge premium. Prasad also invested Rs 244 crore through various companies in Bharathi Cement promoted by Jagan along with Dalmia Cement and India Cements among others. Firms and individuals that put Rs 844.13 crore in Jagathi Publications include Hetero Group, India Cements, Potluri Varaprasad of PVC Ventures, Nimmagadda Prasad, Penna Cements, Lanco and Sajjala group, which acquired equity by paying huge premium, according to the CBI. Basing on these findings and relative evidences in Jagan and Emaar cases, the CBI is planning to interrogate all the accused and make arrests if necessary, inform the sources.      

Jagan Camp MLAs: Numbers Likely to Swell

The showdown of strength has begun between the Congress government and YSR Congress Party in the wake of CBI raids on Jagan and his associates. According to sources, the YSR Congress party is planning its own counter-offensive by ensuring that the resignations tendered by all 29 Congress MLAs are accepted. They are also hoping to get more MLAs to resign. Ministers and MLAs from Chittoor, the home district of the Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, are being lured to resign, sources informed. The names being sounded are those of Mr Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Mr G. Kutuhulamma and Mr Shajahan - all Congress MLAs from Chittoor district who are likely to resign within a week, sources said. Sources in the YSR Congress say that a minister from the Telangana region, who is not on good terms with the CM, has been asked to get more MLAs to resign. All 29 legislators who have resigned are expected to become members of the YSR Congress in the next few days in order pressurise the Speaker to accept their resignations. "We will wait for the Speaker's announcement for one or two days, thereafter we take YSR Congress membership and submit a letter to the Speaker to recognise us as legislators belonging to the YSR Congress party," a source said. They also plan to meet the Governor and inform him of the circumstances that led to their resignations. They may even submit a letter withdrawing their support. They have also planned to tour the districts by bus from September 2 after paying homage to the late Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on the eve of his second death anniversary.

Disbanding Starts in Jagan Camp

If sources are to be believed, already cracks have started in Jagan Mohan Reddy camp. It is learnt that apart from seeking monetary compensation, some of these MLAs are not ready to settle for anything less than the YSR Congress party ticket and expenditure for the next election. It is not yet been confirmed whether Jagan agreed to these demands or not, but few MLAs even wanted a written guarantee from Jagan pertaining to their demands. Sources say, this has certainly infuriated the YSR Congress chief. Meanwhile three MLAs who did not submit resignation on Monday, Konda Sureka, Jayasudha and Kunja Satyavati, were asked to submit their resignations afresh as the Speaker office has clarified that their previous resignations were rejected.  After this information reached Jagan who is on Odarpu yatra in Krishna district, he asked party leaders to secure fresh resignations from these three and submit them at the Speaker Nadendla Manohar’s office before he returns to Hyderabad. But all three are learnt to have refused on the pretext that they would be in trouble if they give resignations for the sake of Jagan when the Telangana sentiment is at its peak. Moreover, sources say that Konda Surekha did not submit her resignation even in specified format. So is the case in respect of the other two MLAs. But Surekha, instead of giving another copy of resignation, is trying to divert attention by saying that she would approach the court over the Speaker not accepting her resignation. While two MLAs from Guntur and Prakasam districts have asked Jagan to settle their land disputes with another legislator, three from coastal districts demanded immediate 'financial help' stating they have not received any funds from the state for the last one year as they are sailing with Jagan.  

TDP MLA Alleges Jagan Paid 20 Cr to Each MLA

Mylavaram TDP MLA Devineni Umamaheswara Rao alleged that YS Jagan Mohan Reddy paid Rs 20 crore to each MLA who tendered his resignation. As many as 26 MLAs submitted their resignations protesting against mentioning of former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy in the FIR filed by the CBI as part of its probe into assets of his son Jagan Mohan Reddy. Speaking to newsmen here, Umamaheswara Rao said Jagan amassed a huge wealth through corrupt means when his father was the chief minister. The illegally earned money was used to buy these MLAs as part of the game plan to destabilise the Congress government in the state. "It is not the first time that YSR's name has figured in FIRs. In all, 21 cases were filed against YSR between 1989 and 2004," said TDP MLA.    

CBI Report Unfolds Jagan Bogus Companies

During its recent raids on the business premises of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and those of his investors, the CBI has unearthed many bogus companies, which have invested in Jagan Mohan Reddy's enterprises. The CBI has now concluded that these companies were 'paper companies' just created for funneling investments. According to CBI sources, the address of Artilligence Bio Innovations Limited, Kirti Electronic Systems Pvt. Limited, Stocknet International Limited, Bay Inland Finance Pvt. Limited, New Outlook Securities Limited and Shakti Ispat Products Pvt. Limited are same. They are officially located at Suit No.5,6 and Flat No.202, Nityananda Nagar, Bakultolia, Howrah. When CBI officials launched searches, they found that there was no company operating from that address. Local inquiries revealed that no such companies ever existed at that address. So, CBI was forced to conclude that these companies are bogus, an official said. The addresses of Delton Exim Pvt Limited, Bhasker Fund Management Limited, Gromoor Fund Management Co.Limited was also listed to be the same: 48/A, Block C, New Alipore, Kolkata -53. Not surprisingly when CBI sleuths visited the place, there were no such companies existing at that location. Cliftons Pearson Exports and Agencies Limited, Ganga Builders Pvt. Limited, Super Finance Limited and Shivalakshmi Exports Limited were also found to have listed their address at 102, Stephen House, 4 BBD Bag (E), Kolkata – 01. When CBI tried to contact the companies and their owners, it found that only one person sitting at the said premises. Further investigations by the CBI revealed that Jagan firms Artilligence Bio Innovations Limited, Kirti Electronic Systems Pvt. Limited, Stocknet International Limited, Bay Inland Finance Pvt. Limited, New Outlook Securities Limited and Shakti Ispat Products Pvt. Limited have no offices of their own. It was found that with the permission of the owner of the premises, these 'paper' companies used them as their address. But they had no office there. Notices sent by CBI to these companies during preliminary inquiry were not answered, said sources in the CBI. With regard to Hingora Finvest Pvt.Limited whose address is listed as Shivaji Raje Scheme, B-10/14, Mhada, 101, Ekta Nagar, Malad West, Mumbai – 400062 there was more confusion. There is no premises that matching with the given address. When officials tried and contacted residents in the neighbourhood, they were equally flummoxed. For Moon Enterprise Pvt. Limited, the address was given as 443, 4th floor, Kiran Kung, Tank Road, Malad (W) Mumbai -400064. During the investigation, it was found that one Pradip Parikh was living at that address with his wife and two daughters, in a 540 square feet flat. Parikh told officials that his company had no investment in Jagati publications and expressed his ignorance about existence of Moon Enterprise. 'There are dozens of companies without any credentials or address. But all of them invested crores of rupees in Jagati Publications," said CBI sources. In case of the two companies based in Hyderabad, Eres Project Pvt.Limited and TWC Infrastructure Pvt. Limited, letters sent to these address were returned unserved. Two promoters of Eres Projects Company: E Rajasekhar Reddy and E Srinivasa Reddy issued a cheque on A/c no. 008010200058362 of Axis Bank for Rs 8 crore. But the amount was actually transferred from Ramky Estates and Farms Pvt. Limited a company promoted by Ayodhya Rami Reddy who executed several municipal and infrastructure projects during the YSR regime. "When the Axis Bank cheque was issued, the Eres project company's bank balance was Rs 5031 and after the transaction, it was Rs 4536.80 and during 2007-08 the company had not earned any income," said sources. With regard to TWC Infrastructure Pvt Limited, two persons who claimed to be the directors of the company has issued Axis Bank cheque under the account No.008010200058371 for Rs 2 crore to Jagati Publications on December 31, 2007. The funds sourced from transfer of funds on the same day from Ramky group of companies and after the cheque realized, the bank balance of TWC Infrastructure was Rs. Nil! Only three transactions were done by TWC Infrastructure during its entire bank operation and the majority of funds are from Ramky Group of companies. "More names are likely to be added in the FIR. We have submitted a report on the searches to the CBI special court," said VV Laxminarayana, CBI joint director.  

Jagan Makes Dent in TDP Stronghold

Jagan's 'odarpu yatra' has been from the beginning drawing good support from the andhra region much to the chagrin of the Congress. Now it is TDP that got the shock of Jagan mania. Contrary to the calculations of political pundits, most of the Kamma-dominant villages in Mailavaram constituency in Krishna district virtually waited for several hours for a glimpse of YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Sunday. The people, particularly from Chowdary community, rallied around Jagan and virtually did not allow him to go out of their villages till he visited their colonies. Even Jagan camp was surprised by the massive turnout from villages considered to be the stronghold of TDP district chief Devineni Umamaheswara Rao. Turnout at Kavulur, Chevutur and Paiduripadu villages was a surprise as people from the Kamma community ran out into the streets and stopped his convoy. "The crowdturnout at Kavulur, Chevutur and Paiduripadu villages had left us speechless," admitted a YSR Congress leader.