Jagan completes one year in jail

• Awaits actual case trial
• CBI busy completing investigations
• YSRCP activity continues unabated

Hyderabad: For the first time in Andhra Pradesh a top level political leader has spent one year in prison on certain charges without the actual case trial being commenced. And the days continue to be counted. The high- profile under-trial, YSRCP president and Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, completes one year in Chanchalguda Central Jail of Hyderabad by mid-night today. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested him on May 27 ,2012 in connection with the disproportionate assets case and charged him with "corruption, cheating and conspiracy to misuse power" of his father, the then Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. Jagan is in judicial remand custody and is an under- trial prisoner.

So far the CBI has filed five charge sheets against him with months of intervals between each one of them and plans to file a few more. The agency also told the courts that it wants separate trial on each charge sheet on the grounds that it was probing into various aspects of the case. Jagan is opposing this claiming that it amounts to violation of his rights as a prisoner and as per Supreme Court orders in various cases. He applied for bail several times but the courts rejected his plea every time on being opposed by the CBI. The YSRCP alleges that the delay is deliberate as the ruling Congress and the government want to keep him in jail till 2014 elections and beyond. CBI, on its part, has been opposing bail saying that if granted, Jagan would influence the witnesses and could destroy evidence. Meanwhile in this one year Jagan has been closely monitoring the political developments in the state and working out strategies from his prison cell. As a special class prisoner Jagan has been devoting most of his time reading books on major leaders, economic development, social welfare development besidesd news- papers. Bible has been a daily reading text. His wife Y S Bharati is managing the Television channel and the vernacular newspaper.