OMC case: Reddy, Kripanandam appear in special CBI court

Former Andhra Pradesh Home Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy and former Secretary of Mines B Kripanandam today appeared before a special CBI court here in the "illegal" mining case allegedly involving Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) owned by mining baron Janardhan Reddy.

The court had earlier issued summons against Sabitha Reddy and Kripanandam seeking their appearance before the court, after it took cognisance of the supplementary charge sheet filed against them by the CBI on April 9.

It was for the first time they appeared before the court and submitted personal bonds and sureties of Rs 25,000 each. The court then posted the case to June 16.

According to CBI, the two allegedly sanctioned OMC's proposal for mining lease by giving it a preferential treatment while rejecting applications of other firms.

Others named by CBI in its earlier charge sheets in the case include former Karnataka minister Janardhan Reddy and and his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy (both now in jail), IAS officer Y Srilakshmi and K Mehfuz Ali Khan, the personal assistant of Janardhan Reddy, among others.

OMC has been accused of changing mining lease boundary markings between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, as well as indulging in illegal mining in Bellary Reserve Forest areas between Karnataka's Bellary district and Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district.

The case of the CBI is that public servants colluded with Janardhan Reddy and allowed him to indulge in large-scale illegal iron ore mining both in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.