Srinivasan questioned in politician's corruption case

N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, was reportedly questioned by India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for over six hours on June 18 in connection with a case against an Andhra Pradesh politician, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The case relates to Reddy allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Srinivasan, the managing director of India Cements and the owner of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, was asked to appear before the CBI to explain government orders allowing additional water used by his company's plants in southern India. The investigative agency claims that India Cements - one of India's largest cement companies, based in Chennai - invested in Reddy's businesses in return for getting the order passed. Srinivasan was apparently called in to explain the transactions.

Reddy's father YS Rajasekhara Reddy was chief minister of Andhra Pradesh till his death in a helicopter crash in 2009. A report in India Today says the Reddy government had allegedly allocated water to India Cements' factories in two districts of Andhra Pradesh in violation of existing rules and regulations. The first information report (FIR) filed by the CBI cites two government orders which it claims helped the company double its production. In return, the FIR claims, India Cements invested a total of Rs 600 million (US$10.9 million) in three companies owned by Reddy. This, according to the CBI, is part of a total of Rs 1.4 billion ($25.45 million) that India Cements has invested in businesses controlled by the Reddy family.