Reddy duo teamed with strange cell mates

Even as Karnataka's former minister and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy and his brother-in-law Srinivas Reddy are having a tough time at the Central Crime Station (CCS) here, frequented by unwelcome visitors such as bandicoots, mosquitos and cockroaches, the CBI team grilling them is having it easy with voluntary help pouring in from victims of the mining mafia.

The duo has been lodged at CCS in noisy Basheerbagh area due to the absence of a cell in the CBI regional office at Kothi here, and also for security reasons. Both will have to spend the next four nights in the CCS lockup, bereft of a mattress, a hole in the ground for a toilet and a water pot, sources said. But sleep may be a far cry as the CCS is used for questioning petty crooks brought round the clock.

The tiny prison cells have no special amenities and the Reddys have even been separated to prevent them from coming up with a common ‘alibi’ to CBI queries.

After they were moved out of Chanchalguda Central Prison, Gali and his relative might have hoped for a better place to cool their heels. During a short stint at the CBI regional office, they were allowed to order food from a restaurant nearby. Biryani, naan and butter chicken formed their repast, after the frugal kichdi at Chanchalguda.

While CBI is leaving no stone unturned in pinning down the former minister with irrefutable evidence, they are having it easy as those victimised by the mining barons are knocking on the CBI’s doors and volunteering information.

One such victim is C Sashikumar, a mining contractor who claims that the former Managing Director of AP mining development corporation V D Rajagopal played a key role in handing out 68.5 ha and another 38.5 ha of virgin mining area allocated to him (survey number 1) in Malpangudi area on a platter to Gali.

“I heard that Rajagopal, after the CBI raid on his residence said that he has done nothing wrong, it’s a blatant lie,” Sashikumar told journalists here on Wednesday.

Gali-mining officials’ nexus

Drawing a rough diagram on a paper depicting the mine that was illegally dug out by Gali’s henchmen with the help of AP government officials, he said that he was here to depose before CBI officers against Gali and Rajagopal.

Earlier, Rajagopal said that he had no knowledge of the illegal mining activity. “I was hoping to be awarded for the sincere work that I have done for the development of mining in the State. All I got in return is a CBI raid,” Rajagopal rued.

Another whistleblower on illegal mining, Tapal Ganesh, visited the CBI office on Thursday and volunteered information.

CBI Additional SP, R M Khan, told the media that in all, five persons, including
Rajagopal, former mines secretary Y Sri Lakshmi and special secretary (forests) K D R Jayakumar, Gali’s elder brother G Karunakara Reddy, were issued notices in connection with the illegal mining case.

All the three officers whose houses were raided on Wednesday night have not been taken into custody so far, but the CBI is not ruling out issuing notices to many others allegedly involved in the mining scam.

Gali Janardhana Reddy’s younger brother Somasekhar Reddy was grilled by the CBI sleuths  on Thursday.  The other sibling, Karunakara Reddy will be interrogated on Friday.

The CBI also continued raids on organisations that played a role in exporting the illegal iron ore.  CBI searched the premises of Navayuga Engineering Company’s office in Somajiguda. Navayuga-promoted Krisnapatnam port in Nellore was one of the exit points for a major chunk of Gali’s ore to leave Indian shores.