AP: Vijayasai Reddy appears before CID in Kakinada Seaports case

In response to the notice issued by the CID, the former MP reached the agency's office at 11 a.m. Though the MP was accompanied by his lawyer, the latter was not allowed into the office

Vijayawada: Former Rajya Sabha MP, V. Vijayasai Reddy, appeared before the Andhra Pradesh Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials here on Wednesday for questioning in the high-profile Kakinada Seaports case.

In response to the notice issued by the CID, the former MP reached the agency’s office at 11 a.m. Though the MP was accompanied by his lawyer, the latter was not allowed into the office.

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Vijayasai Reddy resigned from the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and also quit as an MP in January. A case was registered by the CID against him and others last year on a complaint by former chairman and managing director of Kakinada Seaports Limited (KSPL) Karnati Venkateswara Rao (KV Rao), who alleged that shares worth nearly Rs 3,000 crore in KSPL and Kakinada SEZ were forcibly acquired when the YSRCP was in power.

According to the complaint, 40 per cent of Kakinada Port, valued at Rs 2,500 crore, was allegedly forcibly acquired for just Rs 494 crore. Similarly, 49 per cent of Kakinada SEZ, worth Rs 400 crore, was allegedly purchased for a mere Rs 12 crore.

Based on the complaint, the CID registered a case against YSRCP MP, YV Subba Reddy’s son Vikrant Reddy, Aurobindo Pharma non-executive director Penaka Sarathchandra Reddy, Vijayasai Reddy, and others.

The case was booked under Sections 506, 384, 420, 109, 467, and 120(b), read with 34 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). In his complaint, KV Rao alleged that Vikrant Reddy and others threatened and intimidated him by falsely implicating him in criminal cases and sending him to jail if he refused to hand over the shares.

In January, Vijayasai Reddy appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the same case. The ED had issued an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) based on KV Rao’s complaint.

Denying the allegations, Vijayasai Reddy in December 2024 announced that he would file a defamation case against Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and KV Rao.

He claimed that CM Naidu has been conspiring to tarnish his reputation by using KV Rao as a front to file fabricated cases. Vijayasai Reddy questioned why KV Rao, who spends most of his time abroad, chose to make these accusations after over four years of silence.