Andhra Pradesh Minister for Excise Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao was remanded

                                                                                                                                                         

Andhra Pradesh Minister for Excise Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days after he was arrested and produced before the special court for CBI cases here on Thursday.

The Principal Judge for CBI cases A. Pullaiah also allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation to take him into its custody for five days upto May 30 as against seven days requested by the investigating agency. He was charged under sections 120-B, 420, 409, 427-A of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Mr. Mopidevi was arrested earlier at 1.30 p.m. at the Dilkusha Guest House where he had been summoned by the CBI for questioning for the second consecutive day. The Minister is among the accused in the case of illegal assets allegedly amassed by Kadapa MP Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy.

The CBI’s case against the him is that he signed the file for irregular allotment of 15,000 acres of land for Vodarevu and Nizampatnam Ports & Industrial Corridor (VANPIC) project in his earlier capacity as the Minister for Infrastructure and Ports in Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy Cabinet. Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar were informed before the Minister was taken into custody.

In the wake of Mr. Mopidevi’s arrest, the Chief Minister has convened an emergency meeting with Ministers available in Hyderabad to discuss the fall-out of the development. Sources said the Chief Minister was not in a hurry to ease out Mr. Mopidevi from the Cabinet, at least not before consulting other Ministers.

There were incidents of violence in Guntur district after the Minister's arrest. Mr. Venkataramana Rao represents Repalle Assembly constituency from where he was elected for the second consecutive term in 2009.

Mobs broke the windshields of an RTC bus, set fire to documents in the municipal office and damaged furniture in Government offices in Repalle town. Police said a group of 300 men led by Mopidevi Harnatha Babu, younger brother of the Minister, led the attacks on government properties. Shops downed their shutters in the town.

At Nizampatnam, the hometown of the Minister, a group of 500-600 men armed with sticks set fire to two RTC buses, attacked the Mandal Development Office and set fire to the furniture. The mob then laid siege to the police station. The station inspector was way away at the time of the attack. The mob frenzy caught the district police by surprise.

Jagan's anticipatory bail plea rejected

Meanwhile, the Judge rejected an ad interim anticipatory bail application of Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy who has been summoned by the CBI to appear before it on Friday. Another anticipatory bail application filed by the MP has been posted for filing a counter on May 28.

Mr. Jagan, who was campaigning in the bye-elections to Macherla constituency in Guntur district, cut short his tour and started off for Hyderabad. 

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