Hyderabad, Jul 20 : Responding to the CBI notices, representatives of some more companies, which had invested in the various firms owned by YSR Congress chief and Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, on Tuesday deposed before the central investigating agency here.
Following the directive from Andhra Pradesh High Court, the CBI on Saturday last issued notices to as many as 20 companies which are believed to have invested in the entities owned by Jagan.
The high court had also asked the CBI to submit within two weeks a preliminary report into allegations that Jaganmohan Reddy misused the office of his father, late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, to get investments from various companies to set up his business empire.
The representatives who appeared before the CBI Joint Director (Hyderabad Zone) V V Lakshmi Narayana, included a senior official of Jagati Publications, which is owned by the Kadapa MP himself.
Representatives of seven companies had yesterday appeared before the CBI which had issued notices to four more firms seeking details about their share of investments in the companies owned by the YSR Congress chief.
Dealing with three writ petitions, including a letter-cum-petition filed by Congress MLA and state Textiles Minister P Shankar Rao and separate petitions filed by Telugu Desam Party leaders, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Nissar Ahmed Kakru and Justice Vilas Afzulpurkar, had directed the CBI to submit a preliminary report whether or not any case was made out.
The complaints alleged that Jagan acquired assets estimated to be hundreds of crores from various companies and individuals as a quid-pro-quo for the land allotted and licences granted to them at a throwaway prices for various activities when his father Y S Rajsekhara Reddy was chief minister between 2004 and 2009.
They had further alleged that many companies received undue benefit through questionable methods from the government.
Meanwhile, some representatives of Emaar Properties and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) also appeared before the CBI after the AP High Court ordered for conducting a preliminary probe into the allegations of corruption into the Emaar-APIIC land deal.
The minister Shankar Rao had alleged of serious irregularities in the APIIC-Emaar Properties project deal and accused manipulation by officers of APIIC in favour of Emaar which resulted in loss of crores of rupees to the State exchequer. PTI
