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While a CBI court in Hyderabad has extended the judicial custody of former Karnataka Tourism Minister and Bellary mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy and his brother-in-law and Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC) Managing Director, Srinivasa Reddy, till October 3, a team of CBI sleuths continued raids on the houses of close aides of Janardhana Reddy in Bellary district on Monday.
The CBI team conducted raids at residences of Karapudi Mahesh and Swastik Nagaraj in Bellary, Hospet and Sandur. According to officials, both the transporters, who played a major role in the illegal mining racket, are absconding.
A CBI source told The Pioneer that more raids will be carried out. The officials could also interrogate former Karnataka Minister B Sriramulu, a close aide of the arrested mining baron. The source also confirmed that there was a possibility of bringing Janardhana Reddy to Bellary to open the bank lockers he maintained in some private and cooperative banks in Bellary and Hospet.
In fact, a CBI team had on September 17 seized gold jewellery worth about2 crore from the bank lockers of Srinivasa Reddy, who was brought from Hyderabad for probe into his monetary transactions. Srinivasa Reddy reportedly has six lockers in a private bank, of which four have so far been opened. The lockers contained gold jewellery and other documents, sources said, but declined to share details of the seizures.
According to a source, the Reddys had managed to open bank accounts in benami names with the help of the then bank manager, who is now posted in Bangalore. These accounts were used to transfer funds earned from illegal mining, they said. The CBI team has also searched a rice mill owned by one of Janardhana Reddy's close associate here, while another conducted raids on his aides in Ananthapur, including his driver, and seized about `20 lakh in cash.
The CBI team conducted raids at residences of Karapudi Mahesh and Swastik Nagaraj in Bellary, Hospet and Sandur. According to officials, both the transporters, who played a major role in the illegal mining racket, are absconding.
A CBI source told The Pioneer that more raids will be carried out. The officials could also interrogate former Karnataka Minister B Sriramulu, a close aide of the arrested mining baron. The source also confirmed that there was a possibility of bringing Janardhana Reddy to Bellary to open the bank lockers he maintained in some private and cooperative banks in Bellary and Hospet.
In fact, a CBI team had on September 17 seized gold jewellery worth about2 crore from the bank lockers of Srinivasa Reddy, who was brought from Hyderabad for probe into his monetary transactions. Srinivasa Reddy reportedly has six lockers in a private bank, of which four have so far been opened. The lockers contained gold jewellery and other documents, sources said, but declined to share details of the seizures.
According to a source, the Reddys had managed to open bank accounts in benami names with the help of the then bank manager, who is now posted in Bangalore. These accounts were used to transfer funds earned from illegal mining, they said. The CBI team has also searched a rice mill owned by one of Janardhana Reddy's close associate here, while another conducted raids on his aides in Ananthapur, including his driver, and seized about `20 lakh in cash.
