If given bail, Reddy may flee: CBI to court

After hearing arguments for six hours, the judge posted further hearing on bail petitions for the former minister and his associate B V Srinivas Reddy to Monday.

Presenting his case for custody, the CBI counsel said Reddy’s Obulapuram Mines Company (OMC) mined iron ore from neighbouring Karnataka, even though the Andhra Pradesh government leased the company 68.5 hectares of land. The iron ore thus illegally mined from Karnataka was exported to Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and China, the counsel said, stating that the investigation agency requires the custody of the accused to know the exact location on mining activity.

He informed the court that OMC had exported 29 lakh tonnes of iron ore to other countries, whereas it mined a mere four lakh tonnes from the Obulapuram mines area. He added that satellite images acquired by the CBI pinpoint that the company “had not moved a stone” on the AP side during 2007 and 2009. It was after a case was slapped on OMC December 2009 that the mining activity began, the CBI counsel said.

The CBI is prepared to present all the relevant work done by the agency in a sealed cover, the counsel told the court. He further argued that the post of a Managing Director was created in OMC only after 2009. While MD Srinivas Reddy was paid Rs 2.40 crore a year, Janardhana Reddy and wife were paid Rs 18 crore a year each, and thus can’t claim that they have no say in the day to day activity of the mining company.

The CBI counsel also appealed to the judge to remand the suspects in the agency’s custody for 15 days to facilitate questioning.

Responding to the CBI argument, Gali’s counsel C V Nagesh in his two-hour long argument, pointed out that the CB, with all the evidence in hand, doesn’t require custody of his client. Taking up from where C V Nagesh had left, Reddy’s senior counsel Uday Lalit, opening up arguments on the bail petitions, questioned the intention of the investigation agency in not looking into the role of the concerned ministry and officers involved in the alleged illegal mining activities.

Member of the Lok Sabha from Raichur Sanna Fakirappa who is a close associate of the Reddy brothers, and Rayadurgam MLA Kapu Ramachandra Reddy, a relative of Janardhana Reddy were among the audience at the special court that sat through the arguments.

In a related development, the CBI also filed a seizure warrant at the CBI Special Court  on Friday to attach 53 different assets such as cars and gold ornaments confiscated at Gali’s mansion in Bellary.