The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will produce G Janardhana Reddy, former Karnataka tourism and infrastructure minister, before a special court in Hyderabad at 3 pm today. He was arrested in the early hours of Monday at his Bellary residence.
He has been arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating. The CBI officials also arrested Srinivas Reddy, managing director of Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC). An FIR filed was filed against them in 2009. During the raids, the officials seized several incriminating documents and articles including a laptop, mobile phone, four registers and a diary. The officials also seized Reddy's personal helicopter.
Later, the CBI officials took both of them to Hyderabad, where they will be produced before the CBI court, while another team of officials continued to inquire Laxmi Aruna, wife of Janardhana Reddy at his residence in Bellary.
Obulapuram Minining Company is based in Andhra Pradesh with a mining lease in Ananthapur district along the Karnataka border.
Another team of CBI officials also conducted raids at 'Parijatha', the residence of Janardhan Reddy in Bangalore.
An FIR was registered in 2009 after the Supreme Court appointed Central Empowered Committee wrote a letter against the Obulapuram Mining Company.
There are allegations of irregularities in the mining activities of OMC which is owned by the brothers— G Karunakara Reddy, G Janardhana Reddy and G Somashekara Reddy.
The CBI team from Hyderabad led by its DIG, P V Lakshminarayana entered Janardhana Reddy’s house late on Sunday night and escorted him to an undisclosed location for questioning, sources said. The team also questioned Srinivas Reddy.
The CBI raids come a day after Reddy’s close associate and former minister for health, B Sriramulu’s resignation from his Assembly membership. He is said to have protested against the BJP's denial to give him ministerial berth in the D V Sadananda Gowda cabinet, which came to power on August 4, 2011. Sriramulu is also named in the Lokayukta report.
Recently, the Reddy brothers were indicted in the former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde’s final report on illegal mining in Karnataka. The Lokayukta report accused them of far more serious crimes than just accepting a bribe. The report says they have actually smuggled out iron ore from Karnataka.
Justice Hegde had asked the Reserve Bank of India and the Central government to act against the Reddy brothers for money laundering. About 65 mining companies including OMC are under the CBI scanner.
Chief minister Sadananda Gowda said he was aware of the arrest of Reddy.
