Mining scam: Reddys’ custody extended to Jan 25
A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Thursday extended till January 25 the judicial custody of former minister Gali Janardhan Reddy and three others accused in the ''illegal'' mining case involving Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC).
Janardhan Reddy, lodged in Chanchalguda Jail along with brother-in-law and OMC Managing Director B V Srinivas Reddy since September 2011 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 video conference.
After being produced in the court, Janardhan Reddy requested Judge Nagamaruti Sarma to consider his bail application (earlier posted for hearing on January 23) and said he would not run away from the country if released on bail.
The Reddys and Rajagopal were also given copies of the charge sheet filed by the Central agency on December 3. Due to security reasons, the Reddys were not produced in the court for the past few months and their judicial remand was extended through video-conference.
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.
