BS-IV vehicle scam: ED attaches properties of J.C. Prabhakar Reddy and Jatadhara Industries worth ₹22.10 crore in Andhra Pradesh
The Hindu
154 BS-III vehicles bought from Ashok Leyland in Kohima were allegedly registered as BS-IV vehicles by submitting forged documents before being sold in Andhra Pradesh
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on November 30 (Wednesday) attached the properties of Tadipatri Municipality Chairman and Telugu Desam Party former MLA J.C. Prabhakar Reddy and his close associate C. Gopal Reddy valued at ₹22.10 crore in connection with the BS-III vehicles scam which came to light in 2020.
The sale proceedings of the vehicles have been quantified as ₹38.36 crore by the Enforcement Directorate after it made two raids on Mr. Prabhakar Reddy’s residence at Tadipatri and Hyderabad in the past six months. Movable properties including bank balances, cash, jewellery, and receivables were valued at ₹6.31 crore, while 68 immovable properties belonging to J.C. Prabhakar Reddy and his family members were valued at ₹15.79 crore.
The properties attached also included that of some companies controlled by Mr. Prabhakar Reddy such as Diwakar Road Travels and Jatadhara Industries Private Limited controlled by Mr. C. Gopal Reddy and his family members.
A provisional order has been issued by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Mr. Prabhakar Reddy and Mr. Gopal Reddy through Jatadhara Industries had purchased 154 BS-III vehicles from the Ashok Leyland and got them registered illegally in Kohima, capital of Nagaland. The vehicles were later transferred to Andhra Pradesh and sold as BS-IV vehicles here. The manufacture and sale of BS-III vehicles was prohibited by the Supreme Court from April 1, 2017.
The ED was also probing the role of Chennai-based automobile manufacturer Ashok Leyland in the case. Following the Supreme Court order, the Ashok Leyland sold its leftover stock as scrap, but the buyers allegedly fabricated the vehicle documents and purchased them from various dealers to get them registered in Kohima. The Road Transport Authority in Andhra Pradesh detected this fraud in February 2020 and registered cases in various districts of the State, Karnataka.
Some buyers had got five of the seized vehicles released for scrapping and selling to wriggle out of financial difficulties after a court order was issued in this regard.
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