Reddy forcibly took away ore from mining leaseholders: CBI

 Jailed mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy and his associates virtually ruled the roost in Bellary district in 2008 and 2009 when iron ore mining was at its peak.

The CBI, which is probing the illegal iron ore mining activities in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, has said that “Reddy, who was then Tourism minister and also minister in charge of Bellary district, wielded considerable political and muscle power and thereby made forceful entry into the mining leases owned by somebody else and indulged in extracting iron ore and transporting it.”

The acts of Reddy and his associates were also recorded by many mining leaseholders using digital cameras and cellphones, which are currently with the agency, the CBI said in its supplementary charge sheet filed against Reddy’s private secretary K Mehfuz Ali Khan. The agency had submitted all these documents to the Court as evidence.

Reddy and his associates, including Khan, used to sign illegal agreements with many iron ore leaseholders on extracting and transporting of iron ore on the prices decided by them (Reddy and his associates).

If any owner refused to co-operate, Reddy and his associates would destroy the agreements and forcibly take away the iron ore extracted by the leaseholders, the CBI said in its charge sheet referring to many such instances.

The CBI in its charge sheet filed before the Special Court in Hyderabad says, Khan not only amassed wealth but many of his college friends also made a killing by associating themselves with his activities.

Khan had one account in ING Vysa Bank in the name of Devi Enterprises and three more in Axis Bank in Bellary. His collegemates Madhu Kumar Verma had one account while C Srikanth and V Chandrashekar had three accounts each in Axis Bank in Bellary with huge transactions.

Suspecting that this money was illegal wealth gained by them, the CBI has launched a probe into it.

The agency also found Rs 85 lakh debited and Rs 75 lakh credited from the account of Khan’s father K Iqbal Ali Khan. As Iqbal Ali Khan is an employee of Indian Railways and has no other business, the agency suspected that this money also belongs to his son.