Reddy collected Rs 1,000 cr from miners as private royalty'

Hyderabad, Sept 21: Janardhana Reddy, Bellary mining baron ran a '

' in the area and gathered around Rs 1,000 crore from the fellow miners as his private royalty', said CBI sources.

According to CBI sources, around 300 miners paid mamool to Reddy's Obulapuram Mining Company, said an article in The Times of India.

Sources revealed that Reddy would boss around miners and say that he could get things done through government not just in Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh, but also in New Delhi. By this, he would force them to sell off 70% of their iron ore at Rs 700 for a ton while the market price for a ton was Rs 5,000. The remaining would be sold off in the market for the same price by them. Sources reveal that this was a 70-30 method.

CBI also said that Reddy would have collected 'mamool' for Rs 28 lakh tonnes that would have fetched him more than Rs 1,000 crore between 2007-2010. Gali exported the ore to China and other countries along with the illegally mined ore at Rs 5, 000 per ton.

Reddy also sold the ore to some foreign players at the same rate he bought from fellow miners and the latter were asked to pay balance amount in the form of investment in his firms, mainly Brahmani Steels, revealed CBI sources.

It is learnt that several miners who were forced to sell off their ore at low rates and tried to complain about the same to political bosses about Reddy's mamool raj, are now standing witnesses in the case.

OneIndia News