No bail for BV Srinivasa Reddy in OMC mining scam

HYDERABAD: The special CBI court here today dismissed the bail application of B V Srinivasa Reddy, one of the prime accused in Obulapuram Mining Company ( OMC) illegal mining case involving mining baron and former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy.

The court had refused bail to him earlier too. Janardhan Reddy and his brother-in-law and Managing Director of OMC Srinivasa Reddy had moved the court for bail last month. However, Janardhan Reddy later withdrew his plea.

Both are currently in judicial custody at Chanchalguda Central Prison here. They were arrested by CBI in September 2011.

Srinivasa Reddy had sought bail on the ground that probe was complete and he was in jail for 17 months. Most witnesses were government officials and he could not influence them (if given bail). The evidence, mostly documents, had already been seized by CBI, his lawyer had argued.

However, the court today refused to grant him relief. OMC is accused of tampering with mining lease boundary markings and carrying out mining illegally in Bellary Reserve Forest area on the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh border.