VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (APCID) registered a case against Margadarsi Chit Fund Private Limited (MCFPL) chairman Cherukuri Ramoji Rao, the firm’s managing director Ch Sailaja Kiron and others for allegedly fraudulently transferring the shares of a shareholder to Sailaja Kiron.
The complainant, identified as Gadireddi Yuri Reddi, is the son of Dr Jagannadha Reddi Gadireddi of Ponnapadu village in Krishna district, who established the Navabharat Enterprises and another group of companies with headquarters based in Delhi. Ramoji Rao hails from Pedaparupidi village in the same district.
Elaborating on the allegation, Yuri Reddy said his father, a Communist Party leader as a student in the 1950s, had provided a job to Ramoji Rao in 1960 as a typist-cum-stenographer at Navabharat Enterprises in Delhi on the recommendation of another prominent CPI leader Kondapalli Seetharamaiah.
With faith in Ramoji Rao’s vision to establish a chit-fund company, the entrepreneur decided to provide him with financial assistance.
“MCFPL was incorporated on August 31, 1962 and my father assumed the role of promoter-director. His initial investment was Rs 5,000 and he became a signatory of the Memorandum and Articles of Association. Originally, my father had 90 shares, each valued at Rs 48. Over time, his shares increased. As per the balance sheets filed with the Registrar of Companies for the year 2014, my father held 288 shares,” Yuri explained. He claimed that it was in 2014 that he got to know about the investments and shares held by his father in MCFPL through media reports.
Despite contacting Ramoji Rao several times to inquire about the status and accumulated profits from the shares held by his father in MCFPL, Yuri was reportedly not provided with the details. “Ramoji Rao avoided revealing the actual status and evaded giving me a clear picture,” he alleged. Yuri said after persistent requests, he got a chance to meet Ramoji Rao on September 10, 2016.
“During the meeting, I submitted a letter, seeking a duplicate certificate for the shares held by my father. Ramoji Rao also agreed to transfer the ownership of my father’s shares to me,” he claimed.
On September 29, 2016, when Yuri Reddy and his brother Martin met Ramoji Rao again, he was handed over a cheque for Rs 39.74 lakh as a dividend calculated for the year 2007-08. When Yuri Reddy asked for the dividend for the later period as well, Ramoji Rao said the same would be settled later.
“We were asked to wait in a secluded room. After some time, Ramoji Rao came and instructed us to sign an affidavit prepared on stamp paper worth Rs 100. It stated that my brother does not have any objection to transferring my father’s shares to my name. We were given a post-dated cheque for Rs 2.88 lakh. Subsequently, I was asked to sign on a Form SH-4 (pertaining to transfer of shares) with one page without any date, which I initially refused. However, Ramoji Rao intimidated us at gunpoint and forced me to sign the stamp papers,” Yuri Reddy alleged and said he signed the papers for their safety.
Stating that he was under the impression that the signatures obtained on blank documents were not useful, Yuri said, “As we had no intention of transferring the shares, I did not encash the cheque. I could not approach Ramoji Rao again for the dividend accrued on my shares, fearing the threat.”
The complainant explained that after the CID began the probe, he learnt that his shares were transferred to Sailaja Kiron in 2016. “My shares were illegally and fraudulently transferred to Sailaja Kiron by forging documents. I never sold my shares to her and she did not even pay me for the shares,” he said and sought legal action.
The CID registered a case on October 13 under Sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery) and 120-b read with 34 of IPC and started an investigation.