With Jagan in tow, Sabitha to appear before CBI court today

• Tight security at CBI special court
• All the accused to be ferried from Chanchalguda jail to court

Hyderabad: Former Home minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy will appear before the special court for CBI cases for the first time on Friday in connection with the disproportionate assets case registered against YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. The court had also directed the prison authorities to produce Jagan, former minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana Rao and other jailed accused before it. City police made elaborate security arrangements at the court premises and also to transport Jagan and other accused from the Chanchalguda prison to the court.

Sabitha has been named as accused number four in the fifth chargesheet filed by the CBI in the case for alleged irregularities and violations in granting mining leases for Dalmia Cements. She had to quit the ministry after the trial court took cognisance of the chargesheet last month and issued summons on May 13 directing former ministers Sabitha, Dharmana and 11 other accused to appear before it on June 7.

The accused named in the chargesheet include Jagan, V Vijay Sai Reddy, Dalmia Cements managing director Puneet Dalmia, Sabitha Indra Reddy, IAS officer Y Srilakshmi, former mining official V D Rajagopal, Eswar Cements managing director Sajjala Diwakar Reddy, Dalmia Group officials Sanjay S Mitra, Neel Kamal Beri, Joy Deep Basu, Raghuram Cements represented by Jagan, Dalmia Cements represented by Puneet Dalmia and Eswar Cements represented by Diwakar Reddy. All of them will have to appear before the court without fail.

The chargesheet alleged that Jagan influenced his chief minister father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy to extend undue favours to Dalmia Cements. In return, Dalmia Cements allegedly paid Rs 95 crore as bribe by way of investing the money in the group companies floated by Jagan. The chargesheet said Sabitha, who was then Minister for Mines and Geology, accorded final approval for the grant of limestone mining licence over an area of 407.05 hectares at Thallamanchipatnam and Nawabpet villages in Mylavaram mandal of Kadapa district in favour of Jaya Minerals in violation of mining rules in furtherance of criminal conspiracy and abusing her official position.

As a quid-pro-quo for receiving undue benefit from the government in the form of mining lease under deception, Puneet Dalmia executed share subscription agreement with Jagan for making investments in the latter's cement company Raghuram Cements. In all, Dalmia Cements paid Rs 95 crore between March 2007 and August 2009 in the guise of investments coinciding the processing of files in the government for illegal grant and transfer of prospecting licence and mining lease in their favour, the chargesheet said.