JOIN USThe case had been handed over to the CBI by the Rosaiah-led Congress government in Andhra Pradesh in December 2009. The Opposition parties in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly had held a protest seeking a probe into the mining irregularities in November 2009.
Rosaiah (presently Governor of Tamil Nadu) had formed a three-member committee headed by forest officer Sami Reddy to submit a report with regard to the irregularities.
The panel went into all aspects of the case, including granting of mining leases, the expanse of the mining areas, transportation of illegally mined ore and encroachment of inter-state boundaries. Based on the panel report, the Andhra Pradesh government appealed to the Union Home Ministry to hand over the case to the CBI.
The Home Ministry gave the green signal for a CBI probe on December 1, 2009. The CBI registered a case on December 10 and began investigations. The CBI then raided the OMC office and other offices in Bellary. However, following a plea by OMC, raising technical objections, a single judge bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court had stayed the investigation. On December 16, 2010, the court lifted the stay, paving the way for the resumption of investigation.
The CBI team visited the mining areas on January 11, 2011, to probe various irregularities and collect information regarding mining activities and mining leases.
The CBI had collated documents from various departments regarding the exact boundaries of areas on which mining was permitted and classification of ore.
Notices were issued to most of the mining barons in the district asking them to provide details about the transactions pertaining to a few years. The CBI also inspected documents regarding the survey station in the area and the Suggalamma temple landmark, besides the relevant maps. The investigation team made repeated visits to these areas.
DIG of CBI, V V Lakshminarayana, had then said that the investigation would focus on mining leases, besides the present and past status of the mines. The team compared the present status of these areas with old mining maps, in addition to taking photographs of these places.
The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) appointed by the Supreme Court has also inspected these areas and has submitted a report to the court with regard to illegal mining.