The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the mining scam of former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, is getting help from some unexpected quarters. The bureau is being flooded with letters and documentary evidence from the general public of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka regarding the alleged “misdeeds and irregularities” of the mining baron.
The CBI has received at least 150 letters since the arrest of Mr Janardhan Reddy and his brother-in-law B.V. Srinivas Reddy. Official sources said that the documents and letters, mostly posted from Bellary and Anantapur, related to information on illegal mining of OMC and Mr Janardhan Reddy’s other companies. A senior police official said, “The Gali brothers were literally ruling the Bellary area. People were afraid of his clout. But after his arrest and the CBI probe, things changed quickly. More skeletons are tumbling out of Gali’s closet with the information.” Meanwhile, the police custody of Mr Janardhan Reddy and Mr Srinivas Reddy ended on Sunday and the duo will be produced in the CBI court on Monday morning. The CBI is likely to file a petition for custody extension.
Mr Srinivas Reddy was brought back from Bellary where three bank lockers were searched and officials seized 10 kg gold and `2 lakh cash.
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Govt tapping of phones, emails doubled in july
New Delhi, Sept. 18: The number of phones and email accounts being tapped in the country nearly doubled during the month of July, with Central security agencies making fresh requests for monitoring 3,420 phone lines and 465 email accounts. A total of 4,350 phone lines and 501 email addresses were under surveillance and fresh orders were received from the home secretary recently for monitoring of an additional 3,420 telephones and 465 emails during July, says an internal government document.
About 465 orders were passed for tapping overseas phones, besides 281 orders under Rule 419A of the Indian Telegraph Act, which permits phone tapping for a limited period of time in case of a public emergency by various intelligence and probe agencies, including the IB, CBI and NIA. Clearance for snooping into these phones and e-mails was given by a high-level committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary.
At a meeting held on September 5, the committee, however, sought more details on some of the orders passed and also asked the home secretary to make sure that tapping does not extend beyond the stipulated 180 days.