Former Andhra official gets bail in illegal mining case

The special court dealing with Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases granted conditional bail to Rajagopal, former vice chairman and  managing director of the state-owned Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC).

Rajagopal, the third accused in the case who was arrested by the CBI on Nov 12, was asked to deposit a personal bond of Rs.50,000 and arrange two sureties. He was also directed to surrender his passport to the CBI and make himself available for investigations whenever the investigating agency summons him.

Rajagopal allegedly played a key role in granting mining leases to OMC for iron ore mining in Anantapur district in 2005. He is the second accused to get bail in the case. Indian  Administrative Service (IAS) officer Y. Srilakshmi was released on  bail on Dec 2, four days after the CBI arrested her on charges of  approving mining leases in violation of rules.

The court also extended the judicial custody of Janardhana Reddy and OMC managing director B.V. Srinivasa Reddy till Dec 29. The two were arrested by the CBI on Sep 5 in Bellary in Karnataka.  They are currently lodged in the Chanchalguda Central Jail here.

The court has already rejected their three bail petitions. They moved the fourth bail petition Wednesday.