Once minister No 1, now prisoner No 697

The mining baron, once the most powerful minister in the Yeddyurappa .

Cabinet, enjoyed all the comforts of a crorepathi till Monday morning.

From airconditioned environment, now he has to spend the next fortnight in Chanchalguda jail, which houses hundreds of other prisoners, without even fan. He has to spend his time in a dormitory in the undertrials block.

Reddy would have had cooks to serve him. But on Monday night, he had to stand in a queue along with other jail inmates for his dinner.

The mining baron will have the company of Satyam Raju, the only other VIP staying in an
‘A’ class comfort in the jail

Janardhana Reddy has been given number 697, an identification mark in the jail. He along with his relative and OMC Managing Director Srinivas Reddy, who has been given number 696, had jail food comprising dal, rasam and rice on Monday night. “They stood in line along with other undertrials and had their supper. Obviously tired of the developments and long travel from Bellary to Hyderabad and court proceedings, the two were eager to catch up sleep. “Both of them then asked the staff if they could go to sleep,” a staff member revealed.

Early on Monday morning, Janardhana Reddy was jolted out of his sleep when CBI sleuths knocked at his door and arrested him. They took him in an airconditioned van to Hyderabad by road.

For Reddy, it must be one of the longest journeys by road as he is a known jet setter. Janardhana and his elder brother Karunakara and younger brother Somashekara usually helihop to various destinations in the State.  He and his company own a few helicopters.

Now, the situation has changed overnight. Reddy, whose companies were doing business in crores of rupees business, was always surrounded by his supporters. But on Monday morning, neither his supporters nor BJP functionaries were there to give him moral support at the CBI court where he was produced in the afternoon.

Surprisingly, none of the state level BJP activists were to be found near the CBI court. Many of them who would have loved to play host to Janardhana Reddy earlier shunned him altogether. A few state leaders kept themselves busy in the cacophony of Ganapathi Utsav Pandals in the nearby old city while Gali was moved from one agency to the other. Only a battery of lawyers were present at the court when Janardhana Reddy was brought.

YS Jaganmohan, son of former Chief Minister late Y S Rajashekara Reddy, was furious when news channels started running stories  linking him up with Reddy brothers. To Janardhana Reddy’s dismay, Jagan was categorical in saying that Reddy is a BJP man and let the BJP deal with it.

As the news of Janardhana being brought to the CBI special court in Hyderabad spread, a huge contingent of mediapersons gathered around the Sessions Court in the busy bylanes of Nampally.

Media had a tough time in identifying who Janardhana Reddy as he was brought along with Srinivas Reddy. While Janardhana Reddy was in a light blue shirt. Srinivas Reddy also sported a navy blue shirt, a shade deeper. Cameramen took the help of police to click the photos of Janardhana Reddy.