IT attaches ₹5 crore assets of ex-MLA held in daughter’s name
HYDERABAD: The Income Tax department’s Benami Prohibition Unit (BPU) has provisionally attached properties worth about ₹5 crore in Jangaon and Cherial, registered in the name of PT Bhavani Reddy, daughter of former MLA Muttireddy Yadagiri Reddy, officials said.
Eight attachment orders issued for plots in two towns
According to provisional attachment orders passed on December 24, 2025, the transactions were allegedly carried out in cash. The BPU identified the ex-MLA’s daughter, a resident of Banjara Hills, as the benamidar.
The unit issued eight separate attachment orders for six plots in Jangaon town, totalling 1,154 square yards, and two properties in Cherial, Siddipet district, measuring 1,270 square yards. The total area under attachment is 2,424 square yards. Records cited in the orders show the Jangaon properties were purchased in December 2018, while the Cherial properties were registered in January 2020.
Investigators say recorded owner unaware of transactions
The BPU said the assets were frozen to prevent transfer, conversion or disposal while proceedings continue under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act. In the attachment order, investigators recorded that the listed owner was unaware of transaction details, the source of funds and the identities of witnesses.
The unit also rejected claims that the purchases were funded through a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) account, stating that no documentary evidence was produced to support the claim.
A key part of the case, the BPU noted, was Bhavani Reddy’s sworn statement recorded on July 31, 2025. During questioning, she stated she did not know how the properties were acquired in her name or how payments were made. She said she never visited the properties, did not meet the vendors and did not remember visiting the registration office.
She also told investigators that she signed the sale deeds and related documents without reading them, based on the advice of her father, and that it appeared she had lent her name for the transactions.
Former MLA’s objections rejected
Former MLA Muttireddy Yadagiri Reddy objected to the proceedings, stating that the notices were vague and lacked required document identification numbers. He also claimed the funds originated from HUF agricultural income.
The BPU rejected the objections, citing the absence of bank statement reconciliation or evidence tracing the money from the HUF account to the specific sale deeds. The unit recorded its view that the funds likely came from unknown or fictitious sources.
