HC seeks report on Vanpic probe

Justice Samudrala Govindarajulu of the High Court asked the CBI on Thursday to explain the stage of the investigation against the Ras Al Khaimah in the Vanpic deal.

The judge was hearing the bail plea of Nimmagadda Prasad alias Matrix Prasad, one of the promoters of the controversial Vanpic project and accused in the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s assets case. The CBI opposed the bail plea on the ground that further investigation was in progress.

Referring to the MoU on the Vanpic project, the judge pointed out that  Vanpic was not the only party in the MoU but was also the government of Ras Al Khaimah,a West Asian country. “Why had the CBI not investigated the role of Ras Al Khaimah in the case so far?’’ he wondered and asked the CBI counsel to explain the stage of the investigation against Ras Al Khaimah in the case.

CBI counsel P Kesava Rao replied that the investigating agency had issued notice to the Ras Al Khaimah. The judge remarked that the CBI’s investigation had apparently been going one-sided. Rajshekhar Rao, a counsel from Delhi appearing for Prasad, told the court that his client was a well-established business entrepreneur and was best known for his role in transforming Matrix from a sick unit to a profit-making company within a span of six years. He said his client purchased Matrix Lab for just `3 cr.