TDP leader demands CBI inquiry into Visakhapatnam land scam

Visakhapatnam: Former minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy has sought a CBI probe into a multi-crore Visakhapatnam land scam allegedly involving the ruling Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh.
Satyanarayana Murthy alleged an over a Rs 1,000 crore land scam took place in survey number 336 of Maduravada in Visakhapatnam at the behest of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's wife Bharati. Speaking to mediapersons here on Sunday, the former minister alleged that the land in question, which had been entitled to Ramesh Kumar Banguri of Radiant Developers for Rs 93 crore under a one-time settlement in 2019, was now being registered to a third party.
Satyanarayana Murthy said that the TDP has documentary evidence to prove the charges. The issue pertaining to this land is going on since 2003. The 50-acre land was supposed to have been handed over to Ramesh Kumar after he had paid Rs 93 crore on the directions of the court as part of arbitration in 2019.
The TDP leader alleged that YSRCP leader and MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy had forced Ramesh Kumar Banguri to sign an MoU with regard to the development of the land in serial number 336 of Madhurawada. He also alleged that Banguri was forced to agree to a 70:30 share in the profits from the sale of villas, according to which the land owner Banguri would get 30 per cent, while the developer Prabhakar Reddy would get a 70 per cent share.
The agreement was to build villas on 32 acres. The TDP leader alleged that Prabhakar Reddy would make Rs 1,000 crore profit, based on the property value at Madhurawada. He also alleged that advertisements, for the sale of villas in the said land, were issued in the name of Capital Luxx, which he alleged, was not a stakeholder in the project. He appealed to prospective buyers not to invest their money in the project and be deceived.
Satyanarayana Murthy stated that 'benamis' of the Chief Minister were involved in the land scam. He said they would hand over all the records related to the scam to BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao seeking a CBI inquiry before the scheduled visit of the Prime Minister to Vizag on November 11. He also demanded a CBI inquiry into other land scams in the city.
Earlier in July, he alleged while speaking to the media that Chief Minister and his party MP Vijay Sai Reddy had set their sights on grabbing the prime lands of the Ramanaidu Studio located in the Visakhapatnam beach road.
Satyanarayana Murthy had termed it as 'regrettable and objectionable' on part of the CM and his associates to allegedly stoop to the level of threatening even a prestigious film industry family like that of late Ramanaidu. "Vijay Sai Reddy was acting as the shameless broker in this murky issue which was aimed at grabbing 34.44 acres of the studio", he said.
Addressing a press conference here, the TDP leader demanded the Jagan Reddy government explain why it was systematically destroying all chances for growth and development in the steel city. "Right now, lots of artists and workers were finding job opportunities in the cine industry.
The Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP government allotted land for the Ramanaidu Studio in 2002 in order to usher in a new era of development in Vizag," Murthy said.
Satyanarayana Murthy said that the subsequent YSRCP government had also extended its support for the Ramanaidu family who eventually completed their studio in 2008. "Many artists were able to find work because of this in Vizag. However, the Jagan Reddy regime had different plans. Accordingly, it was changing the fate of everybody in the port city for the sake of their selfish and vested interests", Murthy had said.
The TDP leader recalled that the ruling party leaders had already grabbed the Karthikavanam lands. "The Baypark was handed over to Vijay Sai Reddy's son-in-law. The Daspalla owners were also being threatened. They had set their sights on the Waltair Club lands as well. The Government lands in Vizag were being mortgaged. The Lulu Group was sent back and the lands allotted for it were being sold", the TDP leader said.
Satyanarayana Murthy said that the Vizag residents were living in constant fear of land grabs and encroachments by the YSRCP leaders. "They were trying to grab the prime lands belonging to a church. An additional commissioner was transferred just for not listening to their illegal commands."
"Jagan Reddy and Vijay Sai Reddy came to Vizag only to loot and destroy the peaceful and beautiful city", said Murthy.
The TDP leader asked whether the Chief Minister had unquenchable greed for amassing illegal wealth. "Why was CM Jagan Reddy having so much love over the Vizag beach road? The Andhra Pradesh CM had already amassed lakhs of crores worth of illegal assets. Jagan Reddy should stop this mindless destruction of public property in the port city," he said. (ANI)