ED Action: BS-3 vehicles were "fraudulently" registered as BS-4 vehicles, now property worth crores seized

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has attached more than Rs 22 crore of former Andhra Pradesh Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA JC Prabhakar Reddy and his associates and companies in a case related to an alleged scam of BS-IV vehicles. property has been confiscated.

Reddy is currently the chairman of Tadipatri municipality in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. The ED said in a statement that the case stems from a March 2017 judgment of the Supreme Court, under which the apex court had ordered that no vehicle manufacturer or dealer in India comply with BS-IV emission norms from April 1, 2017. Will not sell any vehicle to the dealer. From this date, the registration of such vehicles was also banned.

The ED alleged that Jatadhara Industries Pvt Ltd (JIPL), "controlled" by Reddy, procured BS-III vehicles at a cheaper price from Ashok Leyland Ltd in violation of a Supreme Court order and sold them "fraudulently" through forged bills. Registered as a BS-4 vehicle.

The federal agency said that during the investigation it was found that some vehicles were registered in Nagaland, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. "The income earned by buying/running or selling these vehicles is Rs 38.36 crore," the ED said. JC Prabhakar Reddy, his family members, companies controlled by him such as Diwakar Road Lines and Jatadhara Industries Pvt Ltd, and Movable assets worth Rs 6.31 crore belonging to C Gopal Reddy and his family have been attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Liquid assets include bank deposits, cash, and jewellery. The total value of the seized assets is Rs 22.10 crore. "The role of Ashok Leyland and other aspects are being probed in this entire scam," the ED said.

Also Read: Tata- Bisleri: Why was Tata Group chosen for Bisleri over Reliance? Know what the founder of the brand said?