HYDERABAD: Industrialist Koneru Prasad was arrested by the CBI in the Emaar scam case on Thursday. This is the first arrest in the case since the CBI commenced its probe in August.The arrest comes a day before Kadapa MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is to be grilled by the agency in connection with the illegal mining case involving Gali Janardhan Reddy.Prasad is the managing director of Stylish Homes, which acted as a marketing agent in the sale of villa plots developed by Emar-MGF in the Emaar Hills township at Nanakramguda on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Prasad is accused of selling plots and apartments at Rs 25,000-50,000 per square yard but showing only Rs 5,000 in the official records.‘’Koneru Prasad sold the plots at much higher value than Rs 5,000. He is the man who negotiated and brought this project here and made a huge amount of black money. We will seek his custody for 15 days for interrogation,’’ CBI joint director V V Lakshminarayana told Express.Prasad was to be kept at CCS on Thursday night and produced before a magistrate Friday morning. The agency is likely to file a petition to confiscate his properties. According to CBI, Emaar-MGF developed about 135 plots in the township. Stylish Homes sold 100 of them at an ‘official’ price of Rs 5,000 per square yard. No advance money was taken for some of the plots. Some plots were sold to a limited group of people and more than one to a single individual or family. The Emaar group entered into an agreement with Stylish Homes to sell villa plots at a pre-determined price which was less than the market price. This allegedly happened without the knowledge and consent of the board of the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC).Prasad was arrested under Sections 120-B read with 420, 409, 420 and 477-A of the IPC and other sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. An enquiry by Vigilance & Enforcement (V&E) found that the agreement between Emaar-MGF and Stylish Homes was never brought to APIIC’s notice and the transfer of the project was without APIIC’s consent.In its FIR, the CBI had named senior IAS officer B P ACharya, then CMD of APIIC, M/s Emaar properties represented by its directors, Emaar MGF Land Pvt Ltd represented by its directors, M/S Stylish Homes Real Estate Pvt Ltd represented by its directors and unknown government officials as accused in the case.Sources said Prasad allegedly played a crucial role in the transfer and sale of the land as Emaar had given him the rights to sell the villas to private customers. The latter included politicians, bureaucrats and Telugu film industry personalities.
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