BENGALURU: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) moved the Karnataka High Court, seeking direction to the chief secretary to give approval for attachment of properties acquired by former minister Gali Janardhan Reddy and his family members in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, from the proceeds of illegal mining.
Reddy recently quit the BJP and launched a new political party. In its representation dated August 30, 2022, the CBI submitted the proposal before the chief secretary for consent to attach the properties acquired by Reddy and his family under Sections 3, 4 and 6 of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 1994, in relation to the crime registered in 2012 under the Prevention of Corruption Act, MMDR Act and Karnataka Forest Act. It was in compliance with the Supreme Court order on illegal mining.
The CBI chargesheet filed before the Special Court stated that Reddy and others allegedly conspired to carry out large-scale illegal mining in Ballari and surrounding areas, and caused wrongful loss of Rs 198 crore to the exchequer by illegally exporting 6.05 lakh tonne of iron ore. The inquiry found that Reddy had started disposing of the properties to evade the law, and hence, it submitted a representation, seeking consent to attach properties worth Rs 19.94 crore. It is not considered by the government yet. The properties were in the name of Reddy, his wife and his companies.
According to the prosecution, the value of the properties was Rs 65.05 crore in 2015. After continued efforts, the CBI traced 219 properties worth Rs 17.14 crore acquired by them in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The CBI reportedly knew that Reddy was making hectic efforts to dispose of some properties in Kurnool, Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts. Soon after this, it submitted a representation to the Ranga Reddy district registrar to abstain from registering any documents in respect of the properties sought to be attached. The petition is yet to come up for hearing.