Illegal mining: Ayukta SIT raids ex-minister Janardhan Reddy, 7 associates

The SIT sleuths, who came to the former Minister’s house at Havambhavi area here, had to wait for some time as there was no one in the house. They entered the house after Mr. Reddy’s father- in-law Mr Parameshwar Reddy arrived and later, his elder brother Gali Somashekhar Reddy too arrived. The search lasted for over three hours, according to sources, SIT sleuths collected some important document and seized a personal computer from his residence. This is the first time in nearly four years that Mr. Reddy’s house in Ballari has been raided. On September 5, 2011, after arresting Mr. Reddy, the CBI had searched the house for nearly three days and seized, cash, gold and luxurious cars owned by him.

Mr. Reddy, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on charges of indulging in large scale illegal mining in the Ballari reserve forest areas in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh and also in Sandur taluk, is presently out on bail after three and half years in jail. However, official sources said that Mr Reddy, who has been maintaining a low profile since he was released on bail, may be in for fresh trouble.

Sources said, while only one FIR has been filed naming Mr. Janardhan Reddy as an accused, SIT has been probing his role in a host of other cases as well. The former Minister secured an interim anticipatory bail in one of the cases, where the FIR named him as an accused. Though Mr. Janardhan Reddy was not on record running any trading firm that has exported ore from the Belekeri port, the SIT is considering indicting him on charges of being the source for the illegally mined ore that was illegally exported from the port, sources said.

Sources in the SIT said that Mr. Reddy may be arrested in connection with other cases, where the origin of the ore is traced back to him. Sources said that while Mr. Janardhan Reddy has secured an interim bail in one case, his role was being probed in other cases as well. The SIT team also raided the house of Kuruba Nagaraj, a partner in M/s Eagle Traders and Logistics owned by Kudligi MLA B. Nagendra, on Talur Road, and the house of Madhukumar, an associate of Mr. Reddy in Channapatna camp on the outskirts of the city. Kuruba Nagaraj was arrested by the SIT and released on bail.

The SIT sleuths also raided the houses of Swastik Nagaraj, Kharapudi Mahesh, said to be close associates of Mr. Reddy and who had handled the illegal transportation of ore for him.