CBI raids former ED official who probed Jagan assets cases

HYDERABAD: CBI on Tuesday registered a disproportionate assets (DA) case against a former Enforcement Directorate (ED) official who has probed high-profile cases, including the money laundering case against Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy and Sujana group of companies of former Union minister and TDP leader YS Chowdary who joined BJP last month.
Sleuths conducted searches on the properties of Bollineni Srinivasa Gandhi, presently a superintendent in the central GST anti-evasion wing, Hyderabad, and unearthed illegal assets worth Rs 3.75 crore.Jagan had approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi two years ago alleging that he was being ‘hounded’ by Gandhi at the instance of the then TDP government in AP. He had also alleged cases were registered by ED and CBI out of malice after he left the Congress.
When Jagan was the leader of Opposition, he had lodged a complaint (Feb 17, 2017) with Modi against the ‘vindictive’ and ‘discriminatory’ action by then ED joint director S A Uma Shankar Goud and Gandhi, who was an assistant director. Jagan alleged that they acted under ‘coercive’ influence of the TDP government. He had even mentioned how ED had issued summons to his wife Y S Bharathi though she did not face any charges — seven years after chargesheets were filed in the case.
Jagan complained: “We were subjected to a series of orders of provisional attachment of assets at the instance of TDP government. Most of the cases were repetitive attachments. The ED officials caused irreparable injury and hardship to me and members of my family in the name of investigation in the 2011 case.”
ED had then attached properties of Jagan before his father YS Rajashekara Reddy became chief minister in May 2004 which, Jagan said, had nothing to do with the alleged offence.

CBI, which launched nationwide searches, conducted raids in Hyderabad and Vijayawada on the properties of Gandhi and filed a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Gandhi and his wife B Sireesha. They have been accused of amassing properties in and around Vijayawada and Kukatpally in Hyderabad.
In the FIR, CBI said: “Gandhi and his wife amassed assets from 2010 till 2019 disproportionate to his known sources of income. Gandhi acquired most of the movable and immovable assets in his name and in the name of his family members.” CBI is also verifying the bank accounts and lockers of Gandhi.
Gandhi was the longest-serving official in ED, Hyderabad, for seven years (2012-19) and literally ran the show though he was only an assistant director. Gandhi joined the central excise department in 1992 as an inspector. He later worked on deputation in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence from August 2002 to March 2012. After his recent transfer to GST department at Begumbazar division, sources said Gandhi pulled strings to get the superintendent post at Hyderabad GST commissionarate headquarters. Gandhi was also probing GST cases against Sujana group of companies.
Sources said several complaints have been lodged against Gandhi with top ED officials, finance ministry and PMO as to how the tainted official has been sitting on several cases booked under FEMA and PMLA since 2014.