BENGALURU:A cheering crowd of about 500 people greeted former minister and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy as he walked out of Parappana Agrahara Central Prison at 4.40 pm on Friday.
Accused of illegal mining in several cases, including one involving his Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), Reddy spent the last three-and-a-half years behind bars. Interestingly, jail authorities said religious heads had directed Reddy to leave the prison only after 4.30 pm so that good luck would follow him in his coming days. Reddy’s first stop after leaving prison was the Muneshwara Temple near his house in Chalukya Circle.
Reddy was granted bail by the Supreme Court earlier this week. His lawyers produced the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court order and furnished two sureties of Rs10 lakh each for the OMC case and three sureties for the Belekeri iron ore theft case.
Reddy collected his belongings — a watch, clothes, mobile phone and a massager for his back — that were kept in the jail lockers before leaving the prison.
Reddy’s wife, children and friends were all there to greet him. Also present were his brother Somashekar Reddy, MP B Sriramulu and sister and former MP J Shantha. The CBI had arrested Reddy on September 5, 2011, from his house in Ballari, along with his brother-in-law and OMC managing director B V Srinivasa Reddy.
Gala Time for Pickpockets
His followers, meanwhile, had a harrowing time with pickpockets, who made merry while a sea of crowd waited for Reddy.
One of Reddy’s well-wishers lost about `5,000 when an unidentified person cut his pocket, injuring him in the process.
Meanwhile, the police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the IPC around the prison, and deployed additional forces to maintain law and order.
Reddy left the jail in his Mercedes car with Somashekar, Shantha, former MLA Sanna Fakirappa, MLA Nagendra and Suresh Babu. The driver, Basavaraj, reached the jail around 3.30 pm.
The former minister had a brief health check-up before leaving the jail premises and waved to his supporters as he left. The family distributed sweets to jail inmates and officers. After he reached his flat in Parijata Apartments in Chalukya Circle, the police officers on bandobast duty too were given sweets.
Tirupati Calling: Reddy was expected to go to Tirupati to offer prayers, but a decision in this regard is yet to be made, Sriramulu said. “We are all happy to see him out of jail. At present, we have not made a decision.”