Vasai-Virar Illegal Construction Scam: ED Gets Custody Of Suspended Ex-VVCMC Deputy Director YS Reddy In Money Laundering Case

Mumbai: The special PMLA court has allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to take the custody of YS Reddy, suspended deputy director of town planning of the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC), in the money laundering case linked to illegal constructions.

Other Accused Already Arrested

Apart from him, ex-VVCMC chief, IAS officer Anil Pawar, and builder duo, Sitaram Gupta and Arun Gupta, have been arrested. They were remanded to judicial custody for 14 days on August 20, however, the ED had reserved its right to obtain their custody for further interrogation.

Reddy was remanded to ED custody till Monday after the agency submitted that he needs to be questioned regarding the huge amount of cash and jewellery found at his residence.

Bribe Collection Modus Operandi

The ED sought Reddy’s after a civic employee allegedly gave a statement that he along with Pawar forced him to collect and deliver bribes to them. The employee revealed that while big architects and builders had access to meet Pawar at his official residence, smaller architects would send their representatives with him to deliver cash to Pawar’s cook or other staff, said the officials.

The employee has also provided a list of 457 commencement certificates (CC) issued for projects in 'Urban Zone' and 129 CCs for D-Zone in lieu of bribes, they added.

Architect’s Testimony

The agency said that it has also recorded the statement of an architect on September 1, who claimed that Pawar and Reddy sought bribes for granting CCs. The architect said that he has negotiated and facilitated payment of bribes to the duo, as per the statement.

Builder’s Statement on Bribe Payments

Besides, ED prosecutor Kavita Patil referred to the August 29 statement of a builder, who claimed that he had paid Rs4.28 crore in bribes, which were collected at a rate of Rs30 per sq ft, to the accused. The builder also claimed that he had paid around Rs15 crore to Reddy and Pawar for various approvals granted by them, said Patil.

Defence Arguments

However, Reddy’s lawyer argued that he has already given explanation to the adjudicating authority regarding the valuables seized from his residence and that seeking custody was the ED's tactic not to submit its reply, as directed, in this regard by September 10.

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Court’s Observations

Accepting the ED's contention, the court said, “Considering the statements of witnesses and the list of CCs, the investigation cannot be completed in a proper manner without Reddy's custody.”