Reddy Brothers defy SC order; 49 trucks seized by Collector

Bellary, Jul 31: With the Lokayukta report literally setting off a witch hunt of all illegal mine exporters, the act has already been set in motion when 49 trucks owned by the Reddy Brothers were seized by the district collector.

It was only on Friday that the Supreme Court had ordered a ban on all mining operations in Bellary district. With the latest seizing of the trucks, the Reddy Brothers have irked the administration by openly flouting the SC order. The trucks were captured near Alighar transporting precious iron ore. The trucks were found to be carrying the ore for Bellary Mining Corporation (BMS) that is owned by Srinivas Reddy. Srinivas Reddy is associated with Obalapuram Mining Company that belongs to his brother-in-law State Tourism Minister Janardhan Reddy, who is one of the all-powerful Reddy Brothers in the district.

The District Collector, A Biswas has been quoted as saying, "We have seized 49 trucks illegally transporting iron ore at Alighar after Supreme Court ban on mining. Vehicles apparently belong to Bellary Mining Corporation and drivers claimed to have obtained the permit for taking out the iron ore on July 30, which is against the Supreme Court order which came yesterday and so no permit can be issued today."

The Reddy Brothers are presently embroiled in the illegal mining scam and was named in the damning Lokayukta report. The Supreme Court had recently banned mining operations in Bellary citing irreparable environmental degradation. The excessive unlawful mining activities were also causing huge losses to the country's exchequer that was exposed by Lokayukta chief Santosh Hegde.

OneIndia News