CHENNAI: Counsel of J Sekhar Reddy, the sand mining baron from whom Rs34 crore was seized in new Rs2,000 currency notes, argued in a court here claiming the money was lawfully earned by him through sand mining since the demonetisation was announced.
The counsel argued before the CBI special court judge G Vijaylakshmi when seeking bail for Reddy and five other accused persons arrested by the CBI in the case.
The counsel for the accused said the CBI had violated the Prevention of Corruption Act because they had arrested private individuals and not public servants and also added that the sum seized from Sekhar Reddy was “lawfully earned in sand mining operations in a 25-day period since the demonetisation was announced.”
The public prosecutor for the CBI opposed the bail petition stating that the CBI was still in its initial stages of probe and would need time to provide all the evidence to substantiate its findings. He also added that while the ordinary man was struggling to find currency notes, the accused was caught in possession of Rs34 crore in new Rs2000 notes and the source of the money had also not been disclosed properly, he added.
The special judge, Vijaylakshmi questioned the special public prosecutor on the seized amount and gold bars and their origin, to which he replied that the amount seized belonged to Reddy and was seized from the car of an individual named Rishikumar, who was absconding.
The counsel for the arrested V Srinivasalu, Dindugal Rathinam, Muthupettai Ramachandran and auditor Premkumar, all told the court that they had not taken part in any kind of money exchange.
Taking the above statements into consideration the judge reserved the orders for December 30 and also asked the CBI to confirm the exact amount of cash seized.