Sabitha accused No 4

• Sabitha offers to quit, but CM prevails upon her not toA resign
• 5th CBI chargesheet names her in Jagan case

Hyderabad: In a major embarrassment to the state government on Monday the CBI has named state Home Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy as accused number 4 in the latest chargesheet filed in the case pertaining to Jaganmohan Reddy's disproportionate assets case. Following vociferous demand from opposition parties as well as within the Congress party, Sabitha offered to resign from the council of ministers but Chief Minister and other senior ministers prevailed upon her not to resign at this stage. Earlier, PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana and Finance Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy called on Sabitha and discussed the likely implications of the chargesheet, more so since she happens to be the Home Minister. Following the meeting Sabitha drove down to the camp office of the Chief Minister and was understood to have submitted her letter of resignation. She was joined by ministers Botcha, Anam and Sunitha Lakshma Reddy. They discussed the issue for over an hour-and-a-half. Sabitha is said to have expressed her agony over the manner in which the CBI was harassing her. Sabitha was named as accused No 4 in the fifth chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Y S Jaganmohan Reddy disproportionate assets case and has been charged with violation of sections 120-b, 409, 420 of IPC and sections 9, 12 and 13 and 13(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The 62-page chargesheet lists allegations of cheating and abuse of power against Sabitha who had served as the Minister for Mines and Geology in the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government. Jagan and his close aide Vijaysai Reddy are listed as A-1 and A-2, while IAS officer Rajagopal, the then Director of Mines, is A-6 in the case. The other accused persons/firms listed in the chargesheet are Punit Dalmia(A-3), IAS officer Srilakshmi (A-5), Eshwar Cements managing director Sajjala Diwakar Reddy(A-7), Dalmia senior executive Sanjay S. Mishra(A-8), Dalmia senior manager Neeldhamal Bheri(A-9), Dalmia manager Jaidev Babu (A-10), Raghuram Cements(A-11), Dalmia Cements (A-12) and Eswhar Cements(A-13) . Sabitha Indra Reddy is the first woman Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh. She was often referred to as 'chellamma' or younger sister by YS Rajasekhara Reddy. YSR used to launch his pet schemes from Chevella constituency which was represented by Sabitha. Sabitha has been named for her alleged actions of omission and commission during her stint as mines minister. She has distanced herself from controversial decisions of that time, saying she was in the dark about the contents of certain files in her ministry. The chargesheet has 53 documents and lists 47 persons as witnesses. Srilakshmi was recently released on bail from the Chanchalguda jail on health grounds. Sabitha already received a notice from the Supreme Court along with five other State Ministers in the case pertaining to the issue of 26 GOs by the Rajasekhara Reddy Government. Dharmana Prasada Rao, Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao, J. Geeta Reddy, Ponnala Lakshmaiah and Kanna Lakshminarayana are the Ministers who received the SC notices. The GOs were issued with the intent to help Jaganmohan Reddy in quid pro quo arrangement in lieu of investments made in his companies. The investors were liberally allotted land in proportion to the size of the investments. Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao is already in Chanchalguda jail along with Jaganmohan reddy.