Special court denies bail to Reddy

The special court Judge Naga Maruthi Sharma, dismissing the two bail petitions, also rejected the prayer of the Central Bureau of Investigation to extend the custody of the accused for nine more days.

Reddy’s counsel J Prabhakar cited the Supreme Court ruling that the custody of the accused should not exceed 15 days at the first instance.

CBI counsel B Ravindranath said the agency had sufficient evidence to arrest them, but needed more material to prepare a charge sheet. In the six days that Janaradhana and Srinivas were in the custody of the CBI, the agency had not elicited sufficient information from them. So, it needs more time to interrogate them, the lawyer said.

Even though the CBI arrested Obulapuram Mining Company director Janardhana Reddy and its managing director Srinivasa Reddy from Bellary on September 5 in connection with illegal mining in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district, “prolonged arguments coupled with the Telangana agitation delayed the process,” a CBI officer said.

However, the CBI is confident of gathering crucial evidence through other means and witnesses.