Court allows ED to question Jagan for 14 days

In yet another setback for YSR Congress Party leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy, a special court here on Friday permitted the Enforcement Directorate [ED] to question him in illegal assets case.

The CBI court allowed ED to quiz Jagan, as the parliament member from Kadapa is popularly known, in Chanchalguda Central Jail for 14 days.

The court, which had July 2 reserved its orders on the ED plea, permitted the central agency to question Jagan from July 7 to July 21.

The ED officials will grill Jagan in the presence of his lawyer every day from 10am to 5pm. The CBI court rejected the objections raised by Jagan to the ED petition. In his counter, the MP urged the court to dismiss the petition. Jagan argued that he is no longer chairman or director of Jagati Publications, the investments into which are under the ED scanner.

Jagati Publications, which publishes Telugu daily Sakshi, reportedly received investments from firms based abroad in return for the favours doled out to them by the then government of Jagan's father YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

The ED has already booked Jagan for alleged violations of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Foreign Exchange Management Act [FEMA]. 

The ED last month questioned industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad, suspended bureaucrat BP Acharya

and another bureaucrat KV Brahmananda Reddy in Chanchalguda Central Jail here in the same case.