Mining scam: Reddys to remain in jail as court extends remand

A special Central Bureau of Investigation court on Thursday extended till January 25 the judicial custody of former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy and three others accused in the "illegal" mining case involving Obulapuram Mining Company.

Janardhana Reddy, lodged in Chanchalguda Jail here along with brother-in-law and OMC Managing Director B V Srinivas Reddy since September last after being arrested by the CBI from Bellary in adjoining Karnataka, and another accused, ex-director of AP Mines and Geology Department V D Rajagopal, were produced before the court which extended the remand.

The judicial custody of suspended IAS officer Y Srilakshmi, another accused in the OMC case, was also extended till January 25 through videoconference.

After being produced in the court, Janardhana Reddy requested Judge Nagamaruti Sarma to consider his bail application (earlier posted for hearing to Jan 23) and said he would not run away from the country if released on bail.

Reddys and Rajagopal were also given copies of the charge sheet filed by the Central agency on December 3. Due to security reasons, Reddys were not produced in the court for the past few months and their judicial remand was extended through a videoconference.

The CBI had registered a case against the mining firm in 2009 after OMC, owned by Janardhan Reddy, was accused of indulging in illegal mining in the Bellary Reserve Forest, spread between Bellary and Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, by obtaining leases through irregular means.

Meanwhile, the court also extended till January 25 the judicial remand of industrialist Koneru Rajendra Prasad, an accused in the scam-ridden APIIC-Emaar township project in Hyderabad.