Former Karnataka minister Janardhana Reddy, aide arrested in ponzi scam case

Former Karnataka minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy was arrested Sunday after hours of intense questioning by police in connection with a Ponzi scam case, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Alok Kumar said.

Reddy, who appeared at the Central Crime Branch (CCB) office Saturday, was arrested after the questioning ended Sunday morning, Kumar said.

The CCB also arrested Reddy's close aide, Ali Khan, in the case, he said.

Reddy, who was allegedly on the run, had appeared before police along with his advocates. He had claimed the allegations against him were part of a "political conspiracy".

The CCB police had been looking for him since Wednesday in connection with a transaction worth crores of rupees, allegedly linked to a ponzi scheme.

It was also on the lookout for Khan, who had allegedly struck a Rs 20-crore deal with Syed Ahmed Fareed of Ambidant Marketing Pvt Ltd, a company allegedly involved in the ponzi scheme, to bail him out of an Enforcement Directorate investigation.