Karnataka's former BJP Minister and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy was arrested and jailed for allegedly shielding two accused persons in a multi-crore Ponzi scheme, a police officer said on Sunday.
"Based on the evidences and statements, Reddy has been arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy," Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Alok Kumar told reporters here.
Later, Additional City Metropolitan Magistrate Jagdish sent Reddy to a 14-day judicial custody till November 24 after being produced at the Magistrate's residence by the City Crime Branch (CCB) police.
The CCB police took Reddy to state-run Victoria Hospital in the city for a check-up before producing him at the Magistrate's residence.
The CCB charged Reddy with shielding a man and his son, both accused in the Rs 954-crore Ponzi scheme, from being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged money laundering in violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Reddy's arrest comes a day after he drove to the CCB office on Saturday evening in response to its summons in the Ponzi case.
"Reddy has been lodged in the central jail. We will apply for bail in the same court on Monday for his release," his lawyer Chandrashekar told reporters here.
Reddy was quizzed on Saturday by CCB officials led by Alok Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police S. Girish and Assistant Commissioner of Police Venkatesh Prasanna.
The CCB also arrested Reddy's aide Ali Khan, who had allegedly struck a Rs 18-crore deal with the accused, Syed Ahmed Fareed and his son Syed Afaq Ahmed of Ambidant Marketing Ltd, a city-based company that ran the Ponzi scheme and duped about 15,000 investors by laundering their money from Dubai.
Reddy, 51, a former BJP Minister in the state (2008-11), however, denied his involvement in the case.
"I have no role in the Ponzi scheme. The police have no evidence to prove my involvement in it. They (police) are misleading the media and the public," said Reddy in a video clip released to local news channels before his interrogation on Saturday.
--IANS
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