The CBI on Wednesday chargesheeted former minister Gali Janardhana Reddy and six others in the Associated Mining Company case. The CBI court later dismissed the bail applications of the mining baron and others. Judge B.M. Angadi dismissed the petitions on the ground that the accused had committed an economic offence of “high magnitude affecting the very economy of the country”.
In its order, the court said as the matter was under investigation, the possibility of the accused tampering with evidence or threatening the witnesses cannot be ruled out. The judge then adjourned the matter to June 5. The court had on May 23 extended till June 5 the judicial custody of Mr Reddy and others.
The CBI filed a 28-page chargesheet supported by 18,379 documents.
The CBI has chargesheeted Mr Reddy’s wife Lakshmi Aruna and IAS officer and then mines department director Shivalingamurthy too. The two are yet to be arrested. The chargesheet has named Mr Reddy’s personal assistant Mehfuz Ali Khan, then Bellary DCF Mutthaiah, then RFO Mahesh Patil and deputy director, mines and geology department, S.P. Raju.
The CBI had filed an FIR against Mr Reddy and others on October 1, 2011 on the Supreme Court directions. The chargesheet estimated that AMC’s illegal mining activity cost the state’s exchequer `480 crores. Mr Reddy has been chargesheeted for offences under 409 (criminal breach of trust which attracts life sentence), 379 (theft), 468, 471 (forgery), 447 (criminal trespass), 13 (1) (‘d’ and ‘c’) of Prevention of Corruption Act and MMRD Act.
The AMC was granted a lease for 30 years in 1966 for mining in 16.9 hectares of land in Venkatagiri village of Sandur taluk in Bellary district. Though the lease expired in 1996, no efforts were made to renew it for four years. It was renewed in 2003 for 10 years from 2000 to 2010 leaving the period between 1996 and 2000 uncovered, violating the MMRD Act.
After the renewal, the company was taken over by G. Lakshmi Aruna and G. Janaradhana Reddy and irregularities took place under their control.