Gali Janardhan Reddy, three others sentenced to 7 years’ jail in Obulapuram illegal mining case, fined by CBI court

A CBI court in Telangana’s Nampally on Tuesday convicted former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy and three others in the long-standing Obulapuram illegal mining case.

The verdict comes years after investigations began into the massive mining scam involving the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), owned by Reddy. Five people were convicted in the case, while two others were acquitted. One of the accused died during the course of the trial.

Reddy, along with OMC MD Srinivas Reddy, Rajagopal Reddy, and Mahfooz Ali Khan, was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined Rs 10,000 each. The company involved was also fined Rs 1 lakh.

Gali Janardhan Reddy’s advocate, Jitendar Reddy, confirmed the sentencing and stated that all convicted parties plan to appeal the verdict in the High Court as early as tomorrow.

The High Court earlier dismissed the case against IAS officer Y Srilakshmi, who was also named in the case. Meanwhile, Krupananda and Telangana Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, who served as Andhra Pradesh’s Mines Minister between 2004 and 2009, was given a clean chit in the case.

The OMC case involved allegations of illegal iron ore mining and export in the Bellary region of Karnataka and the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. Investigations revealed that OMC had obtained mining leases under the guise of captive mining but had engaged in unauthorised mining activities.