CBI to file chargesheet against Gali today

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is filing a chargesheet in the illegal iron ore mining case involving Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) of former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhana Reddy before the designated CBI court here on Saturday.

CBI joint director V V Laxminarayana is heading the investigation into the illegal mining allegedly resorted to by OMC using the lease areas granted to the company in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh bordering Karnataka.

The investigative agency had also looked into the role of senior officials and people in the state government in helping Janardhana Reddy carry on with illegal mining apart from violations they committed in granting the leases.

The filing of the chargesheet, a voluminous effort running into thousands of pages, is coming a day before the mandatory 90-day period ends as the prime accused Janardhana Reddy and with his relative and managing director of OMC B V Srinivas Reddy were arrested by the CBI on September 5.

Last month, it arrested two senior officials — V D Rajagopal, former head of Directorate of Mining, and a serving senior IAS officer, Srilakshmi, who issued the controversial GO granting mining lease in over 60 hectare to OMC without the ‘captive’ clause that was originally intended. The CBI officials also arrested Rajashekhar, a director on the board of OMC and brother-in-law of Rajagopal, on Wednesday. He is expected to be produced before the CBI special court tomorrow. The investigative agency gathered extensive data and information to nail the accused in this high-profile case while examining dozens of witnesses, including state home minister Sabita Indra Reddy, who previously held the mining portfolio, and Kadapa MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

CBI court grants bail to IAS officer
The CBI special court on Friday granted conditional bail to Srilakshmi, who was sent to a local jail on Thursday after being in police custody two-days. She was arrested on November 28. The court asked the lady officer to deposit her passports and cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

Normally, courts take a lenient view in granting bail to the accused in judicial custody once the chargesheet is filed.

Earlier, the court had rejected the bail petitions of Gali, Srinivas Reddy and Rajagopal. However, Srilakshmi got bail after spending two days in police custody and a day in jail.

The CBI is expected to add a few more persons to the list of accused when it files the chargesheet in the above case.

The state government in December 2010 had requested the Centre to institute a CBI inquiry in the alleged illegal iron ore mining, including the encroachment of forest lands by OMC.

The CBI is yet to complete its investigation into the illegal iron ore activities of Gali in Karnataka. The agency filed a separate FIR against Gali and company after the Supreme Court asked it to get into their mining activities in iron ore-rich Karnataka following the Lok Ayukta’s report.