Excise Minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana has been taken into custody by the CBI Thursday afternoon. The much anticipated arrest was effected by the CBI on the second day of the latest round of questioning of the Minister for his role in Vanpic deal.
The move is a clear indication that YSR Congress Party leader Jagan Mohan Reddy will be arrested by the investigating agency any time now.
Mopidevi was Minister for Infrastructure during the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy regime when the controversial deal was inked.
The CBI immediately produced him before the court, which remanded him to judicial custody till June 7. The court allowed CBI’s custodial questioning till May 30.
Following his arrest, the Minister sent in his resignation letter to Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy through his friend Raja. In his letter, he claimed that he had only followed the instructions by the then CM YSR’s instructions and hoped he would come out unscathed in the CBI investigation.
He is the first Minister to be arrested while in the office in the state’s political history. The 48-yar-old third term MLA from Repalle in Guntur district has been in dock recently over allegations of receiving bribes from liquor syndicates.
The CBI charge is that a conspiracy was hatched to defraud the government by giving away large chunks of land on the shore in Guntur and Prakasam districts to Vanpic promoter Matrix Prasad in lieu of his investments in Jagathi Publications and other companies of Jagan.
Mopidevi’s family has been informed of his arrest by the CBI. On learning of his arrest, Mopidevi’s family members and followers gathered at Dilkusha Guest House, where he was being held by the CBI. There were sporadic incidents incidents in Repealle as a protest against Mopidevi’s arrest.
