CBI freezes Jagan accounts as he faces arrest in assets case

                                                                         
The CBI on Tuesday tightened the noose around YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy in the illegal assets case as it froze the bank accounts of his three major business houses.

This comes amid the arrest threat which looms over Jagan after the CBI special court in Hyderabad issued summons to him in connection with the alleged disproportionate assets case.

The CBI sent letters to the State Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce to freeze all the accounts of Jagathi Publications, the mediahouse which publishes Telugu daily Sakshi, Indira Television which manages the Sakshi Telugu TV channel and Janani Infra Private Limited, the real estate and infrastructure company owned by Jagan.

The CBI has so far filed three chargesheets in the special court in connection with the disproportionate assets case, naming Jagan as the main accused. The court took cognisance of the first chargesheet to issue summons to Jagan on Tuesday, asking him to appear before the court on May 28.

'That the court has taken cognisance of the charge sheet indicates that the trial into the charges framed against Jagan by the CBI has commenced. And when Jagan appears before the court, he will be provided with a copy of the chargesheet and asked whether he would agree with the charges framed by the CBI. Since he will naturally reject the charges, the court will begin the trial,' CBI sources said.

According to them, once the trial starts, the CBI would make a request to the court, seeking permission to take Jagan into custody and question him. If the court grants permission, Jagan's arrest would be imminent, they said.

The CBI special court as well as the high court, while granting bail to Jagan's personal auditor V. Vijay Sai Reddy, the other accused in the case, observed that there was no point in denying bail to the accused no. 2 when the main accused (Jagan) was free.

The court sought to know why the CBI was not able to arrest the other accused and whether the agency lacked enough evidence. 'The same question might come up when Jagan appears on May 28.

And if the court orders Jagan's arrest, the CBI's job would become easier,' sources said. YSR Congress sources said Jagan would appear before on May 28, though initially, there were suggestions he could challenge the summons in the high court on the ground that the CBI did not have any evidence against him.
from Daily Mail