Hyderabad:
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today filed its fourth chargesheet against YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in the disproportionate assets case. It is a supplementary to the first chargesheet where the investigating agency has added a new Section 9 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The probe agency, in its three chargesheets filed against Mr Reddy and others, had alleged that he and his father and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy hatched a conspiracy to defraud the government, and the state government granted some favours to certain firms, which made investments in Jagan's businesses as a quid pro quo.
The 39-year-old MP was arrested on May 27 after being questioned for three days. Mr Reddy is currently lodged at the Chanchalguda Jail near Hyderabad. A court recently extended his judicial remand till July 4; a decision on his bail plea is expected tomorrow.
The chargesheet comes at a time when Mr Reddy's party, YSR Congress, is pointing fingers at CBI Joint Director Lakshmi Narayana, alleging that he is not carrying out an impartial inquiry. The MLAs headed by Mr Reddy's mother Vijayalakshmi are in Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and complain against the CBI official.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court had on Monday asked the officer to explain within a week why he made several phone calls to the media. Mr Reddy's Sakshi channel had recently made the official's call data records public and the CID is now investigating the case on a complaint by Mr Narayana.
While accusing the CBI official of hatching a conspiracy against Mr Reddy, the party claimed that he made calls to journalists of newspapers and television channels which were running a vilification campaign against its leader.
Mr Reddy, though in jail, swept the Assembly elections held in May. His party won 15 out of the 18 Assembly seats.
In another development, which could mount pressure on Jagan, a CBI court in May had directed the CBI to provide a copy of the first chargesheet and statements of the witnesses to Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED had sought the copies so that it could take up investigation under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).