Visakhapatnam: I am not benami of Vijaya Sai, says real estate firm director

‘Assure Estates Developers is not associated with any political party’

Mr. K. Umesh, one of the directors of Assure Estates Developers, said that he is not a benami to any political leader, including YSR Congress Party MP V. Vijaya Sai Reddy, and nor his company is associated with any political party.

Amid the rising protests and allegations over YSR Congress Party MP’s involvement in the alleged land scam at Dasapalla Hills, the directors of Assure Estate Developers as well as a couple of plot owners at Daspalla Hills addressed a press conference, here on Saturday.

Mr Umesh said that during COVID-19, Mr Vijaya Sai had asked him to take up relief activities for the people. He said that being a person with comorbitidies and to avoid large gatherings at the MP’s apartment, he had requested the MP to conduct relief activities from his house located on the city outskirts.

“Since Mr Vijaya Sai had stayed in my house during the COVID-19 period, some people have made allegations that I am his benami, which are baseless.,” he said.

He said that he shares work with another director S.R. Gopinath Reddy. While Gopinath Reddy handles finances and funding, he looks after legal issues and he mostly stays in Hyderabad.

Mr. Gopinath Reddy said that he has been a resident of Visakhapatnam since the year 1999 and is into business. He denied the allegations that funding for his company comes from any political leaders or companies related to their family members.

Plot owners have stated that they do not have any political affiliations and the Daspalla lands issue should not be politicised. They stated that they are the rightful owners of the land and that the land has been declared by various courts, including the Supreme Court, as a private land.