The CBI on Monday arrested mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy and his brother-in-law, Mr B. Srinivas Reddy, in an early morning swoop in connection with an illegal mining case after raiding their residences in Bellary and Bengaluru.
Mr Janardhan Reddy is a director of the Bellary-based Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) and Mr Srinivas Reddy is the MD. Reports said the mining baron was roused from his sleep and arrested. They were remanded to judicial custody for 15 days.
The CBI acted in such secrecy that its joint director, Mr V.V. Lakshmi Narayana, a nd his 16-member team checked into local hotels in Bellary under assumed names.
The team travelled to the Reddy residence in local cabs and arrested Mr Janardhan Reddy at about 5.30 am. The entire operation lasted less than 15 minutes after which Mr Lakshmi Narayana left for Hyderabad with the duo.
From the residence the CBI seized `3 crore in cash and over 30 kg of gold besides several documents. It seized `1.5 crore cash and documents from the residence of Mr Srinivas Reddy.
Apart from a personal dairy, a laptop and a mobile, the CBI also seized a helicopter, Rukmini, owned by Mr Janardhan Reddy, and a fleet of cars that included a Rolls-Royce, Range Rover, Land Rover, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, parked on the premises of Kuteeram, his home-cum-office.
The CBI also conducted searches at Parijatha Apartments, Mr Jana-rdhan Reddy’s residence in Bengaluru.