The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday attached assets worth more than Rs 22 crore belonging to former Andhra Pradesh Telugu Desam Party MLA JC Prabhakar Reddy, his associates and his companies in an alleged scam case related to Bharat Stage-IV vehicles, reported PTI.
The scam pertains to the alleged money laundering of Rs 38 crore in the sale of trucks that violated anti-pollution norms mandated by the Supreme Court. In March 2017, the court had ruled that vehicles not compliant with Bharat Stage-IV emission norms should not be sold in India by any manufacturer or dealer from April 1, 2017.
Even as the sale or registration of trucks that did not meet the Bharat Stage-IV emission norms two companies – Diwakar Road Lines and Jatadhara Industries – bought some Bharat Stage-III trucks from heavy vehicle company Ashok Leyland as scrap, reported NDTV.
The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that the firms then forged the dates on the invoices for the trucks to get them registered in Nagaland, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in 2018, according to the news channel.
The central agency has alleged that these firms are controlled by JC Prabhakar Reddy, his close associate Gopal Reddy, who is a civil contractor from Ananthapur district in Andhra Pradesh, and their family members.
JC Prabhakar Reddy is currently the chairman of the Tadipatri municipality in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.
The central agency is also investigating into Ashok Leyland’s involvement in the case. However, the company has denied its role in the case saying that the matter seems to be pertaining to an old investigation.
“The investigation is not against Ashok Leyland, but against a third party scrap customer,” the company has said, according to PTI. “We have submitted all documents and details as required by the Enforcement Directorate pertaining to this matter, which clearly establishes that we are not implicated in any manner. Ashok Leyland is compliant with all emission requirements.”
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