Reddys’ aides face music at home, offices

In a first major operation after the Supreme Court widened the scope of the investigation into illegal iron ore mining in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the CBI on Monday conducted searches on the premises of Deccan Mining Company and residences of some key individuals suspected to be having close links with tainted mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy.

About 10 CBI teams raided the offices of Deccan Mining Company in Bellary and the residence of Rajendra Jain, the owner of the company. The CBI has also raided the residences of BJP’s Koodligi MLA Nagendra and Muttaiah, a former forest officer.

According to sources, the operation was successful in terms of the documents that were seized from the premises raided through the day. One set of documents is believed to remain a key link in exposing the illegal mining operations of the Reddys.

The document, sources said, shows the way Deccan Mining was hand in glove with the Reddys-owned Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) in mining and trading iron ore.

OMC is accused of selling iron ore that was mined in other locations contrary to the agreements the company has with the government, sources said.