Court extends mining baron Janardhana Reddy custody till 2 Dec

Bangalore: A CBI court on Monday extended till December 14, the judicial custody of mining baron G Janardhana Reddy and four others, arrested in the illegal mining case involving Associated Mining Corporation owned by him. CBI court judge B M Angadi extended the judicial custody of the accused till 14 December. [caption id=“attachment_536362” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The bail pleas of all the five accused has been rejected by the CBI court.[/caption] Janardhana Reddy and his associate Mehfuz Ali Khan were produced before the court via video conferencing from Chanchalaguda jail in Hyderabad where they are lodged. The other three were produced through video conferencing from Parappana Agrahara jail. The bail pleas of all the five accused has been rejected by the CBI court. Reddy subsequently moved the High Court, where his bail plea is pending. The bail pleas of the then Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bellary district, S Muthaiah and the then Director Mines and Geology S P Raju was rejected by the High Court last month. Khan’s bail plea has already been rejected by the High Court. Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday dismissed the bail petition of former director of Mines (Andhra Pradesh) V D Rajgopal who is an accused in the illegal mining case involving OMC. Justice B Seshashayana Reddy, who turned down the bail application, observed that the petitioner was highly influential and there is evidence that he had tampered with evidence and intimidated witnesses. Even otherwise the investigation into Obulapuram mining scam was still underway, and release of the petitioner at this juncture would seriously jeopardise the investigation, the Judge noted. Rajgopal had sought relief on grounds of failing health. Rajgopal, who has been lodged in a jail here since his arrest last November, is facing serious charges of forging documents and resorting to abuse of power for pecuniary gains. PTI