A former police constable who purchased 150 acres of land in Mahabubnagar district belonging Agri-Gold company in an auction and the accused persons in Agri-Gold misappropriation of funds appeared to be one and the same.
This was stated by Telangana Crime Investigation Department (CID) officials in an affidavit filed in Telangana High Court in an interim application filed in connection with a PIL petition relating to misappropriation of funds of Agri-Gold depositors. CID SP T. Srinivasa Rao, who filed the affidavit, requested the court to dismiss an interim application filed by former constable B. Narender Reddy seeking possession of the lands which he purchased in auction.
The petitioner was one of the benamis to the accused, the SP stated in the affidavit. Mr. Reddy hailed form a middle class family and worked as police constable earlier. It was impossible for a person of his financial status to purchase 150 acres of land (which belonged to Agri-Gold and auctioned following High Court directions). He paid ₹15.18 crore to purchase the land through auction.
Investigators were collecting details of the former policeman’s Income Tax returns to ascertain if he had the financial capacity to purchase by paying over ₹15 crore, the affidavit filed before a division bench of Justices M.S. Ramachandra Rao and T. Amarnath Goud said. The CID officials maintained that the accused in the case and the petitioner allegedly tried to sell properties of Agri-Gold company though further transactions on those properties were prohibited.
Andhra Pradesh Advocate General S. Sriram informed the division bench that doubts were being raised over the persons behind purchase of a shopping complex belonging to Agri-Gold company in Vijayawada. Only a single bidder participated in the auction of the property conducted by State Bank of India.
Telangana Special Government Pleader Sanjeev Kumar said that a counter affidavit was filed by the government in connection with an interim application questioning the delay in handing over the 150 acres of land purchased in an auction. He cited the report of the CID authorities who stated that the petitioner and the accused in Agri-Gold scam were the same.
The matter was posted for June 25.
