Vanpic case: CBI opposes IRAS officer's bail plea

HYDERABAD: Contending that its investigation nailed the key role of IRAS officer K V Brahmananda Reddy in fraudulent allotment of 28,000 acres of land to Vanpic project, the CBI said in the trial court that though he may have been on leave when the key note was prepared on June 24, 2008, he could have cleared it before that. Brahmananda Reddy was on deputation to AP and was working with the infrastructure and investment wing as its special secretary during the period when the state government struck the Vanpic deal with Nimmagadda Prasad and Ras Al Khaimah.One of the accused in the Vanpic case, Brahmananda Reddy has been in judicial custody.
The decision to allot land to Vanpic was taken by the then chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on June 29, 2008, and the note to be circulated to the cabinet and the CMO was prepared by June 19 itself, the CBI said adding that this note was vetted by Brahmananda Reddy the same day (June 19). "Having done this, now this man cannot claim ignorance about the note," the CBI said in its counter opposing Brahmananda Reddy's bail plea.
Moreover, it was Brahmananda Reddy who signed the MoU on behalf of the state, the CBI says. He was also instrumental in misleading the cabinet on the provisions of MoU and fraudulently ensured the transfer of land to Nimmagadda's own companies. The role of RAK representatives like Qatar Massad and AK Jagannathan is also under investigation, the CBI said and expressed the apprehension that Brahmananda Reddy might be one of the end users of the Rs 300 crore that was diverted by Nimmagadda in the Vanpic case. Expressing the apprehension that granting bail to him at this stage could jeopardize the probe process, the CBI urged the court to dismiss his plea.