Satyam Raju Too Invested In Sakshi

[katharnak]

Hyderabad, May 18: Satyam Computers former Chief Ramalinga Raju had also invested money in Jagati Publications, publishers of the Sakshi newspaper, owned by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, in a quid pro quo arrangement, CBI has informed the court. Raju had invested Rs. 20 crore through Maytas Infra (which is no longer his), in return for the Rs. 121 cr. road-widening project given by the YSR regime, the agency has informed. He has invested this money through industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad, who was already arrested in the case, on Tuesday.

Apart from Maytas, the Indu group of Syam Prasa Reddy had also invested Rs. 70 cr. in Jagati Publications through his Walden and Cornerstone companies. CBI informed the Court that these investments were in lieu of a slew of benefits showered on his company by the YSR regime. The YSR government has doled out 8,800 acres of land in Anantapur district for establishing Lepakshi Knowledge Hub, the agency informed.

CBI deputy legal adviser B Ravindranath gave these details to the court while seeking a14-day custody of Nimmagadda Prasad and K V Brahmananda Reddy former secretary of Infrastructure and Investments department. Principal Judge Pullaiah has given 10 days custody of both from Friday.

CBI’s counsel informed the court that Nimmagadda Prasad has roped in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), an emirate of the UAE to make the whole deal look like a government to government agreement and to avoid the open bid process for the Vanpic project. Through several deceitful means, the promoter got 13,000 acres allotted in his company’s name, he said. Though he got Rs. 525 cr. from the RAK government as compensation to be paid to the land losers, he paid only a part of this and Rs. 300 cr. is still unaccounted CBI counsel said.

Nimmagadda Prasad is the first investor to be arrested in Jagan case. Counsel of Prasad has objected the agency seeking his custody, despite questioning him on several occasions during the past few months. He has also said that the CBI has gone back on its earlier assurance that investors in Jagan’s companies would not be arrested.