Sources in the agency claimed they have evidence show that Obalapuram Mining Company was mining from areas which were not allocated to it.
Efforts put in by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to nail Gali Janardhana Reddy in the illegal mining case are similar to those taken up by the best of science labs anywhere. Considering the technical aspects involved in mining it was beyond anyone’s imagination.
Nearly 130 samples of iron ore from various consignments of the Reddys’ Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) iron ore mines and neighbouring mines were collected by the CBI. These samples were sent for 3D laser scanning to various laboratories, including the laboratory at Singareni Collieries. Satellite imagery of the region was also analysed to determine its topography.
Viewing all this, the CBI determined that there was significant mismatch between each of the samples collected from the consignments of the Reddys. “It was evident that the iron ore that was invoiced and dispatched from OMC was not actually mined there. Instead, it was mined somewhere else and sold on the invoices of OMC,” a source explained.
The CBI also found that permits and invoices were fabricated with the help of two key officials in the Andhra Pradesh government to show that the ore mined was from Obulapuram while in reality it was illegally acquired from mines in Karnataka.
“It would have been difficult for the accused to sell the iron ore mined in Karnataka from Karnataka. Instead, they shifted it to Obulapuram in Andhra Pradesh and sold it with OMC invoices,” the source said.
According to OMC’s own admission, about 29 lakh tonnes of iron ore was mined and sold from the Obulapuram mines.
However, satellite imagery available with the CBI has shown that the actual mining in the area was far less than that claimed by the Reddys. This analysis has also made it clear that the high grade iron ore did not come from Obulapuram.
“The iron ore in Obulapuram is not of high quality. The export market for the ore would not have yielded the revenues that are being claimed by the accused,” the source said. Samples collected from 68.52 hectares of OMC were sent to NMDC and the Indian Bureau of Mines for analysis.
The ore in the mines was found to be unfit for trade since there was low content of ferrous in it. Armed with all this scientific evidence, the CBI has gone ahead and slapped various cases on the Reddys including that of theft and trespass.
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