Seized cash belong to Srinivas Reddy: Andhra police

A top police official today told PTI that two persons arrested after the cash seizure "admitted" that the cash was given to them by an unknown person in Bellary claiming the cash belonged to Srinivas Reddy and it was meant for transporation to a safer place in Hyderabad to avoid seizure by CBI.

Both Srinivas Reddy, brother-in-law of former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, who owns OMC, were arrested on September 5 from Bellary. CBI is at present interrogating them.

The central agency, is thoroughly probing the "illegal" mining and irregularities in allotment of mining leases to OMC and carrying out raids at several locations.

In the wake of the seizure of the cash that was being transported from Bellary, CBI is exploring on intensifying its probe and has decided to take over the cash seizure case after it was prima facie established that the cash belonged to OMC.

CBI is expected to soon file a memo in a court in Anantapur town in this regard and a CBI team today collected details from senior police officials of the cash seizure case, a top police official told PTI on condition of anonymity.

Police had yesterday taken into custody Venkatramana Reddy, the lorry driver and cleaner Ishwar Reddy after intercepting the vehicle in which the duo were transporting the unaccounted cash from Bellary to Hyderabad.

"During preliminary questioning, both the accused confessed that one unknown person gave them Rs 4.95 crore in cash in Bellary asking them to hand over it in Hyderabad, for which they were promised Rs 20,000.

"The unknown person told the duo that the cash belonged to Srinivas Reddy and in view of CBI raids, the cash was being shifted to another location in Hyderabad," the police officer said.

After arresting the duo, they were produced before a local court where police sought their custody to further interrogate them to know the source of the cash, the police officer said.

The Income Tax Department, in the meanwhile, has also moved the local court seeking custody of both the accused and to investigate the matter from another angle.

CBI has registered a case against OMC on December 7, 2009, at the request of Andhra Pradesh government in the wake of allegations of illegal mining and irregularities in allotment of mining leases to the company in Obulapuram and Malpanagudi villages in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.