CBI freezes accounts of media firms owned by Y S Jagan Reddy

The Central Bureau of Investigation has asked banks to freeze the accounts of Sakshi TV and other media houses owned by Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, MP from Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh and head of the YSR Congress party, in connection with a disproportionate assets case.

The agency on Tuesday directed State Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce to freeze the accounts of these firms in their city branches as they could hold illicit money.

The CBI has so far filed three charge-sheets in the case. It has now effectively frozen the accounts of Jagati Publications and Indira TV, as well as Janani Infrastructure – all owned by Jaganmohan Reddy. Jagati Publications and Indira Television control the Sakshi newspaper and Sakshi TV respectively.

The CBIs also named the representatives of Jagati publications and other business firms associated to Reddy in its chargesheet filed in the court on Monday, soon after a special CBI court in Hyderabad issued a summons to the YSR Congress president directing him to appear before it on 28 May.

The court has also summoned 12 others facing charges in the case to appear before it on the same day. Among them are managing directors Srinivasa Reddy (Hetero Drugs), Nityananda Reddy (Aurobindo Pharma), Sarat Chandra Reddy (Trident Life Sciences), senior Indian Administrative Services officer B P Acharya, Y Vijayalakshmi, a former official in the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corp, and former company secretary of Aurobindo Pharma Chandramouli.

IAS officer Venkatarami Reddy, Ramky Group chairman Ayodhyarami Reddy, Jagati Publications (publisher of Sakshi Telugu daily) and Ramky Pharma India Ltd are the others accused in the case.

The CBI says that Ramky invested Rs10 crore in Jagati Publications in return for special favours received under the then state government headed by Jaganmohan's father YS Rajasekhara Reddy, a largely popular chief minister till he was killed in a helicopter crash in 2008.