Janardhana Reddy in jail, Gadkari summons Karnataka Chief Minister

BJP chief Nitin Gadkari has summoned Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda to discuss the fallouts of the arrest of Janardhana Reddy and his brother in the Obulapuram mining case. Gowda will be travelling to Nagpur so as to meet Sadananda Gowda.

Till last month, Janardhana Reddy was the tourism minister for Karnataka. On Monday morning, he was arrested by CBI along with his brother-in-law from his residence at Bellary and brought to Hydrebad. Mr. Reddy was sent to jail for 14 days.

Both the Reddy's has been accused of illegal mining through Obulpuram Mining Company. Srinivas is the managing director and Janardhana Reddy is a director of the company. The CBI team has allegedly fund out Rs. 3 crore in cash and 3 kg gold from his residence. OMC operates in Andhra Pradesh, but is headquartered across the border at Bellary in Karnataka, where Janardhana and his two brothers, are hailed as masters of their universe. Their politics and mining career have stimulated each other's growth so carefully, that it is hard to tell them apart. A series of cases has been charged against the Reddy's where they are alleged to have encroached into the reserved forest area, illegal exporting of huge amounts of iron ore, and of coercing other mining companies to act as a front. A report on the illegal mining delivered last month by Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde indicted the Reddy's and the then Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa. While the later had to quit his office and the Reddy's were not allowed to be included in the new cabinet of Sadananda Gowda. B Sreeramulu, former minister and a close aide of Reddy's too has announced his resignation as an MLA on Sunday. He is also named in the report given by Santosh Hegde on illegal mining.  Mr. Gadkari is also to discuss Sreeramulu's resignation with Gowda. OMC had a salivating growth rate. It was set up in 2001 by Gali Janardhana, with an initial capital of Rs. 10 lakhs.  By 2003-04, OMC had taken over several mining leases directly or indirectly and had reported a turnover of RS. 35 crore. In just five years, by 2009, the turnover was Rs. 3000 crore.

News Reported by AR for Newsvision - Online news paper

Janardhana Reddy sent to jail, Rs 3 crore cash, 3 kg gold seized

The former Karnataka minister Janardhana Reddy and managing director of Obulapuram Mining Company Srinivasa Reddy has been sent to jail. The court forwarded the two to 14-day judicial custody. The court is to hear on September 7, CBI's plea for custody of the two. Earlier, the CBI team comprising of 11 member arrested Janardhana Reddy in Bellary, 300 km from Bangalore, on charges of illegal mining in operations in the Reddy's Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) in Andhra Pradesh.

The team led by CBI DIG Lakshminarayana, Andhra Pradesh after conducting a raid at Reddy's residence they arrested Srinivasa Reddy, Managing Director of OMC. Another CBI team alos conducted simultaneous raids on Parijatha, Reddy's residence in Bangalore.

During the raids, the team found Rs. 3 crore in cash and 30 kgs of gold. At Srinivasa's residence they found Rs. 1.45 cash and gold ornaments.

CBI has also attached two helicopters owned by Janardhana and also seized several documents relating to iron ore export and bank transactions outside the country.

Several IAS, IFS officers will also be questioned in connection with the illegal mining at Obulpuram and some of them are expected to be arrested today. The CBI is preparing a special report which is to be submitted to the special court wherein it included 174 persons in it.

The Andhra Pradesh government laid down in November 2009 that a CBI inquiry was required to investigate on the allegations of illegal mining in the Obulpuram area.

Besides, they are accused of mining far beyond their leased area, Reddy's has been accused of mining deep into the Bellary-Andhra Pradesh reserve forest area. They are also accused of damaging the state border demarcation area blasting the Sugulamma Devi temple on the border. Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde's report throws light on OMC doing illegal mining.

The 45 year-old Janardhana Reddy was tourism and infrastucture minister in the B S Yeddyurappa government. They turned millionares from ordinary man within a short span of time after iron ore boom in 2000. He had also proposed the state government to set up Rs. 36,000 crore steel industry in Bellary, which was later withdrawn by him.

Both the Reddy brothers has been charged with varioys IPC sections namely Ss.120 (b), 420, 411, 379, 427, 447, Anti Corruption Act Sections 13 (2), 13 (1) A, Mines and Mineral Regulation Act Sections 4 (1) and 4 (1) (A 23) and Forest Act Section 26. Almost all sections under the Forest Act and Anti-corruption Actsare non-bailable.

News Reported by AR for Newsvision