Andhra IAS officer gets bail in illegal mining case

A special court here Monday granted interim bail to Indian Administrative Service officer Y.Srilakshmi in the illegal mining case involving former Karnataka minister G. Janardhana Reddy.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court granted conditional bail to the suspended IAS officer on health grounds. The judge directed her to surrender again on Jan 21 next year. Srilakshmi was also asked to deposit a personal bond of Rs.50,000, not to leave Hyderabad and to surrender her passport to the court. The accused was also directed to cooperate with the CBI in the investigations.

Arrested by the CBI on Nov 28 last year, Srilakshmi is facing the charges of granting mining lease to Janardhana Reddy's Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) for iron ore mining in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh in violation of rules.

The special court on Dec 2 had granted her bail but the same was subsequently cancelled by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The Supreme Court had also upheld the high court order.

Meanwhile, the CBI court Monday sent Janardhana Reddy's personal assistant Mehfuz Ali Khan to CBI custody for seven days. The investigating agency was allowed to take custody of Khan from Chanchalguda Jail on Tuesday. The court had last week sent Khan to judicial custody till Oct 17 after he was brought to Hyderabad from Bangalore, where he is facing trial in another illegal mining case involving his boss.

In another development, Janardhana Reddy, who is currently lodged in Chanchalguda Jail in cash-for-bail scam, has filed a bail petition in the high court in OMC case. The court directed the CBI to file a counter and adjourned the hearing.

The mining baron allegedly paid Rs.10 crore bribe to a special CBI judge to get bail in OMC case. The suspended judge along with several others was arrested in the case.