Zeenews Bureau
Hyderabad: YSR Congress Party chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy was grilled by CBI here for more than seven-and-a-half hours on Friday, a day after a special court here dismissed his anticipatory bail petition in the alleged illegal assets case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has asked the Kadapa MP to come again tomorrow, at CBI camp office at 10:30 am for another round of questioning session.
However, the YSR Congress party chief was looking relaxed after coming out of the CBI office in the evening today.
Talking to the waiting reporters Jagan said, “I answered all the question asked by the CBI very coolly and I am very much satisfied after answering them.”
“I will come again tomorrow and answer rest of the questions,” Jagan further said.
The CBI has set up a camp office at government-owned Dilkusha Guest House. A massive security cordon has been thrown around the guest house. Policemen had lined the road from Jagan’s residence to the Guest House as they fear law and order problems in the eventuality of his arrest – Hyderabad is tense.
The probe agency wants to question Jagan on the Vadarevu and Nizampatnam Ports and Industrial Corridor (VANPIC) deal in the presence of industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad and senior bureaucrat KV Brahamandna Reddy who are already under arrest.
Prasad is the promoter in the VANPIC deal and allegedly invested Rs 850 crore in the business of Jagan for land allotment made to the VANPIC project by the then YSR regime on quid-pro-quo basis.
The beleaguered Kadapa MP YS Jagan has alleged that he was being targeted by the ruling Congress in collusion with the Telugu Desam Party and the CBI.
While talking to reporters earlier, Jagan said, “I am being targeted by the ruling Congress, which has colluded with other political parties and the CBI to implicate me in false cases.”
In view of the investigating agency summoning him to appear before it, Jagan had moved the court seeking anticipatory bail through his counsel, while expressing apprehensions that the CBI`s move is solely aimed at arresting him and smacked of "ulterior motive". He alleged that the probe agency was "misusing" its power. Jagan`s counsel Sushil Kumar argued that the FIR in the case was lodged in August last year and his client was never summoned in over nine months since then.
The CBI had, yesterday, arrested Excise Minister Mopidevi Venkatramna soon after he appeared before agency officials for questioning for a second consecutive day. Jagan`s arrest is also not ruled out as he is the main accused in the case booked by the probe agency last year.
Venkataramna is the first minister in the state`s history to be arrested on charges of corruption while in office.
Venkataramna was minister for infrastructure and investment in the Rajasekhara Reddy government when certain companies were allegedly shown undue favours in return for investments they made in businesses of Jagan, the chief minister`s son.
In the Jagan case, the CBI court, while adjourning the hearing on his petition to May 28, ruled that it is not possible to grant anticipatory bail petition to the Kadapa MP. The court asked CBI to file a counter to the petition.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court had Wednesday dismissed Jagan`s petition for exemption from personal appearance before the CBI.
The CBI court has already dismissed his petition for exemption from personal appearance in the court on May 28.
The court, while taking cognizance of the first chargesheet, has served summons on Jagan and 12 other accused, directing them to personally appear in the court on May 28.
The CBI, in its chargesheet filed against Jagan and 12 others on March 31, accused Jagan and his father of hatching a conspiracy to defraud the government with Jagan influencing his father Rajeshkara Reddy in doing out certain favours to various investors, who made investments of several crores into Jagan`s businesses as a quid-pro-quo arrangement.
