Jailed mining baron Janardhana Reddy is in fresh trouble. A CBI probe—whose scope was confined to probing his illegal mining and iron ore trade in Andhra Pradesh—will now go beyond the borders of the state and look at his modus operandi in Karnataka too.
The Supreme Court on Friday expanded the scope of the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) probe by allowing the agency to conduct a comprehensive probe by examining the activities of the Reddys in both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The Reddys have been accused of erasing the borders between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for illegally mining iron ore and beyond the mines that were allotted to them by the respective governments.
Taking cognisance of the court appointed Central Empowered Committee’s (CEC) report—which said that illegal mining operations were being carried out by the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) with impunity —the apex court has asked the CBI to conduct a detailed probe.
In addition to that, an NGO Samaj Parivartan Samudaya (SPS)—that has been litigating for ban on illegal mining and action against the guilty—also filed an application seeking expansion of the CBI probe. The court asked the CBI to file the status report regarding the action by it in this case.
Though the CBI has begun probing into the illegal operations of the Reddys and the OMC, it was not looking at the border issues since an earlier Andhra Pradesh HC order had stopped the CBI from taking up the issue pending further hearing in the SC. However, with the SC now authorising the agency to conduct a detailed probe, the CBI is expected to widen its scope of investigation.
