Trouble for Reddys; CBI gains custody of jailed duo

Hyderabad, Sept 13: Former Karnataka Minister and mining kingpin Janardhana Reddy and brother-in-law Srinivasa Reddy's bail plea was postponed by the special CBI court and their custody was handed over to the CBI till Sept 19 by the court.

There was some ruckus ahead of the hearing in the special CBI court with some disruption in the proceedings. Pro-Telangana lawyers were protesting at the court premises. They had proposed a lawyers strike from today.

The high profile case involving illegal mining saw the arrest of Janardhana Reddy and the Managing Director of the Obalupuram Mining Company, Srinivasa Reddy on Sept 5. They were in judicial custody till now and was housed at the Chanchalguda jail in Hyderabad. The CBI had earlier raided Janardhana Reddy's house revealing massive riches. He was also indicted in the Lokayukta report.

Vivek Tanaka, appearing in court on behalf of the CBI Additional Solicitor General strongly opposed the bail pleas of the Reddy's citing the prominent role they played in the illegal mining activities in Karnataka. They will now be interrogated under CBI custody till Sept 19. Tanaka also argued that the CBI custody is crucial since they had close and personal knowledge of the illegal mining in the state.

The defence counsel consisting of CV Nagesh, a Karnataka High Court lawyer and Raghavachari argued that there was a hidden agenda to malign the reputation of the Reddy Brothers. Urging the court to grant bail to them, the defence counsel asserted that their clients will co-operate with the investigative agencies probe.

OneIndia News