CBI files charge sheet against Janardhan Reddy, others

A charge sheet was filed against the jailed former Minister G. Janardhan Reddy, his aide Mehfouz Ali Khan and five others before the Special CBI Court here on Monday by the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation. The case, which was referred to the CBI by the Supreme Court on September 7, 2012, relates to the illegal extraction and transportation of 7.74 lakh tonnes of iron ore from Bellary estimated to be worth more than Rs. 200 crore. The others who have been named in the charge sheet include the former Deputy Conservator of Forests S. Muthaih, the former Deputy Director of Mines and Geology S.P. Raju, Conservator of Forests Manoj Kumar Shukla and ore transporters Swastik Nagaraj and Kharapudi Mahesh. The name of the Belekeri port-based company S.B. Logistics too was included in the charge sheet while the name of its owner K. Janardhan Reddy (a namesake of the former Minister) was left out. All of the accused except Mr. Shukla have been in judicial custody for several months in connection with other illegal mining cases filed earlier. Mr. Shukla, who was on deputation at Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested last week and remanded in judicial custody by the court on Monday.   Source: The Hindu