Hyderabad, March 31
The CBI today filed a chargesheet against Kadapa MP and YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and 12 others in an alleged illegal assets case.

Jagan, who is the country’s richest MP with assets worth over Rs 365 crore, has been named as accused no. 1 while suspended IAS officer and former Home Secretary BP Acharya is mentioned as accused no. 9 in the keenly-watched disproportionate assets case.

The investigating agency has so far refrained from arresting the Kadapa MP despite naming him as the prime accused. His close aide and auditor Vijayasai Reddy, who is accused no. 2 in the case, is already in judicial custody following his arrest in January.

Several private companies and individuals have also been named as accused for allegedly helping Jagan amass huge wealth when his father late YS Rajasekhar Reddy was the Chief Minister between 2004 and 2009.

The CBI filed the 68-page chargesheet, along with 268 supporting documents, before a special CBI court, framing charges under IPC Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 477/A (falsification of accounts) and also under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The investigating agency, which registered the case last August on the high court’s direction, has listed 72 persons and organisations as the accused and sought more time from the court to further investigate matters.

The crux of the charges against Jagan is that he had misused his father’s official position to attract investments into his businesses in return for doling out favours such as land allotments, SEZs and mining leases. However, Jagan has denied the charges and described the ongoing campaign against him as witch-hunting and an attempt to defame his father.

The high court’s order for a CBI probe was based on the petitions filed by senior Congress leader Dr P Shankar Rao and the Telugu Desam Party leader K Yerran Naidu. The case has acquired political overtones as Jagan had quit the Congress and floated his own political outfit to claim his charismatic father’s political legacy.

The outcome of the assets case is bound to have a huge impact on state politics as both the ruling Congress and the main Opposition TDP have been consistently targeting Jagan for his corrupt business practices. However, his growing popularity among the masses and his hugely successful road shows are a cause of concern for the major parties.

The UPA government is said to be wary of ordering his arrest as it might generate sympathy for him. The CBI is believed to have collected enough evidence to prove the “quid pro quo” deals during the YSR regime, benefiting Jagan’s business ventures.