PNS | Vijayawada
In the latest development in Margadarsi case, Gadireddi Yuri Reddi, the son of the late Gadireddi Jagannadha Reddi, commonly known as GJ Reddi, has filed a complaint with the Crime Investigation Department (CID), alleging the unauthorised transfer of his shares in Margadarsi Chits to the company’s Managing Director, Shailaja Kiran. Yuri Reddi, who has accused Margadarsi Chairman Cherukuri Ramoji Rao of coercing him at gunpoint to sign non-judicial stamp papers, claims that this deceit has deprived his family of their legitimate shares in the Margadarsi group.
Yuri Reddi’s grievance traces back to his father’s association with Ramoji Rao, who was appointed as an assistant by GJ Reddi in the early 1960s within Navabharat Enterprises.
In 1962, it was GJ Reddi who initiated the establishment of Margadarsi Chit Funds with a modest investment of Rs 5,000.
At that time, G J Reddi was allocated 90 shares, which had grown to 288 over the years.
Shockingly, in 2016, these shares were allegedly transferred fraudulently to MD Shailaja Kiran, without the consent of Yuri Reddi. He claims that this transfer was executed under duress, and he was handed a cheque for Rs 39 lakh as a dividend, which was valid until 2007.
Yuri Reddi further explained that G J Reddi, who originally hailed from Jonnapadu village in Krishna district, completed his higher education in Czechoslovakia, returned to India, and subsequently established Navabharat Enterprises and several other conglomerates based in New Delhi. With the financial support of his father, Ramoji Rao laid the foundation of Margadarsi Chit Funds Private Ltd, with GJ Reddi serving as the Promoter Director, as per Yuri Reddi’s account.
GJ Reddi’s life took a turn during the emergency era of 1977 when he had to flee India and eventually settled in Czechoslovakia. He passed away in 1985. Although GJ Reddi had informed his sons about his shareholdings in various Indian companies, Yuri Reddi and his brother Martin did not delve into this matter until an article in a Telugu vernacular newspaper brought it to their attention in 2014.
Yuri Reddi’s attorney, D. Siva Rami Reddy, revealed that upon learning about his father’s Margadarsi shares, Yuri Reddi made multiple attempts to meet with Ramoji Rao but was unsuccessful. It wasn’t until 2016, with the assistance of some acquaintances, that Yuri Reddi managed to confront Ramoji Rao at his residence. Allegedly, it was during this encounter that Ramoji Rao intimidated Yuri Reddi, making him fearful of reporting the incident to the authorities due to the latter’s perceived influence in society.
According to Rami Reddy, the shares were wrongly transferred to Margadarsi MD Shailaja Kiran, despite Yuri Reddi’s disinterest in selling them. However, Yuri Reddi’s decision to file a complaint with the CID only came to fruition after a press conference by the Andhra Pradesh CID in Delhi, which was related to an ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities within the Margadarsi group.
The allegations made by Yuri Reddi have once again brought Margadarsi Chits into the spotlight, raising questions about the circumstances surrounding the transfer of shares and the involvement of prominent individuals in this financial matter. The CID’s investigation into this case is ongoing.
