CBI names N Srinivasan in Jagan case charge sheet

HYDERABAD/CHENNAI: N Srinivasan, who has been on a bumpy ride as the Indian cricket board’s chief, had more bad news on Tuesday after investigators named him as an accused in the corruption probe involving the son of Andhra Pradesh's late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

On Tuesday, the Central Bureau of Investigation filed charge sheets against three cement companies — India Cements, Bharathi Cement and Penna Cement. CBI officials alleged that India Cements, of which Srinivasan is the vice chairman, invested some Rs 140 crore in various businesses of Jagan Mohan Reddy in return for favours. The investigating agency accused senior bureaucrats Adityanath Das and M Samuel for allegedly issuing government orders allotting land, water and limestone mines in favour of India Cements. But it has so far not named the then irrigation minister, Ponnala Laxmaiah, whose ministry issued government orders favouring India Cements to draw large quantities of river water.

The CBI, which questioned Srinivasan a couple of times last year, charged India Cements with criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, falsification of accounts and criminal misconduct in its FIR. “I have not seen the papers yet. So can’t comment,” Srinivasan told ET over phone. However, an India Cements spokesman said, “We have not done anything irregular, which we will establish at the appropriate forum.”

Jagan Mohan Reddy, who represents Kadapa in the Lok Sabha, broke away from the Congress to form his own political outfit soon after his father Rajasekhara Reddy died in a helicopter crash in 2009. He was arrested in May last year. Reddy and his auditor V Vijay Sai Reddy have been named as first and second accused in all the eight charge sheets filed so far.

The investigating agency also named Penna Cement chairman Penna Pratap Reddy and the promoters of Bharathi Cement in its latest charge sheets. Officials of Penna Cement and Bharathi Cement could not be reached for comments. Other than those named in its latest charge sheets, the CBI has named the promoters of Matrix Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma, Ramky Group, Hetero Drugs and Dalmia Cement. But only Matrix founder Nimmagadda Prasad has been arrested.