A day after Kadapa MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy was granted bail, industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad and suspended senior bureaucrat K.V. Brahmananda Reddy, both accused in the Vadarevu Nizampatnam Ports and Industrial Corridor (VANPIC) aspect of the quid pro quo investments case, filed separate petitions in a special court here on Tuesday seeking bail.
Both Mr. Prasad and Mr. Reddy were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on May 15 last year on the charges of quid pro quo investments and the role in allotment of land to VANPIC project illegally, respectively. Interestingly, legal counsel of the third and sixth accused in the VANPIC case have not made any mention of Mr. Jagan getting bail in their petitions.
In the petition filed on behalf of Mr. Prasad, his counsel requested the court to grant bail since the CBI had informed the court that its investigation into VANPIC aspect of the quid pro quo case was completed in all respects. Besides, the CBI’s apprehension that Mr. Prasad could tamper with evidence or threaten witnesses was misplaced since he had no power over government officials, public servants and ministers as he was only an investor.
There was no CBI allegation on him either of non-cooperation or of influencing the investigation before and after Mr. Prasad’s arrest. The VANPIC promoter had appeared before CBI 13 times before his arrest and had cooperated with the investigating agency during his 10-day custody given to it after arrest, the counsel explained.
Further, the court was told that there was no need to keep him in continuous detention as it would violate his right to fair trial and he could not defend himself properly during the trial only if he was kept in jail, counsel stated.
Mr. Reddy’s counsel said his client tampering with evidence would not arise at all as he had no access to records available with the government. The judge posted the two petitions for filing of counters and arguments to September 26.
