While Jaganmohan Reddy, presently lodged in the Chanchalguda jail, is fighting a case of disproportionate assets filed against him by the CBI, it turns out that it was reportedly the Income Tax department which first detected the alleged financial irregularities in the firms owned by Reddy in 2010.
While examining the returns filed by Jagati Publications the department reportedly found that despite Reddy and his partners owning 90% of the equity in the company, they had only contributed 20% of the share capital, the Times of India reported.
Jaganmohan Reddy is presently in judicial custody for 14 days. PTI
Despite being an unlisted company and one that was making losses, the department found that many businesses had invested in Reddy’s companies despite having no interests in the media industry.
The department issued notices to the companies and realised that all had been allocated large areas of land in Special Economic Zones by the YSR Reddy governement and reportedly concluded that it was for that reason they had invested in Jagati Publications.
Meanwhile Jagan has found support from an unlikely source, with the BJP calling him a victim of political vendetta.
“The CBI action of arresting Jaganmohan Reddy becomes suspect when Congress has selectively chosen to act against an individual. It is selectively targeting him … political vendetta is being used against those who are opposing the Congress,” BJP national spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said on Monday.
The BJP also said they weren’t supporting Jagan merely because they saw a potential political ally in him, and said there was no question of a political alliance with his party. Reddy was arrested on 27 May and was remanded by a court to 14 days in judicial custody.
Rudy also questioned the timing of the arrest, saying it had come at a time when Andhra Pradesh is already on the boil due to ongoing agitations for a separate Telangana state.
Jagan’s sister also appeared on CNN IBN to defend her brother. See video above.
