CBI produces Reddy before court

Amid tight security, former Karnataka Tourism Minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy was on Friday produced before a special CBI court here which remanded him to CBI custody till March 12 in connection with an illegal mining case.

Reddy and 20 others are facing charges for their alleged involvement in illegal mining, over which the CBI had filed an FIR against them in October last.

Reddy was brought here in the early hours of on Friday by CBI personnel from Hyderabad and later escorted into the court.

Associated Mining Corporation (AMC) and Deccan Mining Syndicate (DMC) owned by Reddy and his wife Aruna Lakshmi have been facing probe over charges of illegal mining. Additional Civil and Sessions Court judge B M Angadi remanded Reddy to custody after CBI moved an application in this regard.

Former minister and Congress leader V Muniyappa and few other officials are the other accused in the case. The city civil court complex, where the CBI court is located, witnessed trouble following an altercation between a section of advocates and media persons over filming of the events that followed production of Reddy before the court.

A camera person was injured when some advocates attacked few regional channel camera crew following which mediapersons staged a protest at the court premises. Expressing displeasure over the attack on media persons, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda has asked Law Minister S Suresh Kumar to look into the issue.