BENGALURU: Acting on a petition filed by the CBI, a special court passed an order to attach 82 immovable properties of former minister G Janardhana Reddy and his wife G Lakshmi Aruna, over illegal mining, till the disposal of criminal proceedings pending against him. This includes five properties in the name of Reddy and 77 properties in the name of Lakshmi.
Judge B Jayantha Kumar passed the order on June 12, partly allowing the petition filed by CBI, praying to pass an order to attach properties worth Rs 65.05 crore mentioned in the petition. It was in connection with a case registered in 2012 under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, and Karnataka Forest Act, against Reddy.
The properties were allegedly acquired from proceeds of crime, and the chief secretary authorised CBI in 2015 to move the special court to attach the properties. This was for causing a loss of Rs 198 crore to the state government exchequer, by illegally selling and exporting 6.05 MT iron ore when Reddy was district minister, using his official position.