Vijayawada: There have been unconfirmed reports that well-known Hyderabad-based industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad has been taken into custody by police in Serbia while on a holiday there.
Mr Prasad has close links with AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. He was arrested by the CBI in Mr Reddy’s alleged illegal investments case.
According to sources in the industry, Mr Prasad was arrested by the police following a complaint from officials of Ras Al Khaimah, the northernmost emirate of the United Arab Emirates, in connection with a dispute over shareholding in the Vadarevu And Nizampatnam Port Industrial Corridor (VANPIC), an industrial corridor coming up between Guntur and Prakasam districts in Andhra Pradesh.
It is learnt that Mr Prasad is being questioned by the Serbian police in Belgrade.
YSRC MPs have reportedly begun efforts to bring him back to India with the intervention of the ministry of external affairs and are said to have met foreign minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday.
Incidentally, a group of YSRC MPs had met Mr Jaishanakar on Tuesday seeking the release of Srikakulam-based fishermen who were caught by Pakistani authorities when fishing off the Gujarat coast.
The Enforcement Directorate had attached 11,804 acres of land belonging to VANPIC two years ago, in connection with Mr Reddy’s case.
While the arrest in Serbia took place two days ago, it came to light only on Tuesday.
