Hyderabad: The CBI has moved the Telangana High Court challenging the acquittal of former minister and current BRS MLA Sabitha Indra Reddy in the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) case. The agency also appealed against the clean chit given to Industries Department Secretary Krupanandam by the Nampally special court.
The case dates back to 2009, when the then united Andhra Pradesh government requested a CBI probe into alleged land encroachment and illegal mining by OMC. The central government ordered the investigation, and in 2011, the CBI filed its first chargesheet.
CBI challenges court acquittal of Sabitha Indra Reddy in Obulapuram mining case
After nearly 15 years of proceedings, the Nampally special court delivered its verdict on March 6, 2024. It convicted former Karnataka minister and then OMC director G. Janardhan Reddy, OMC managing director B.V. Srinivas Reddy, then Mining Department director V.D. Rajagopal, and Janardhan Reddy’s personal assistant K. Maqsood Ali Khan. Each was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment and fined ₹10,000, while OMC was fined ₹2 lakh.
Sabitha Indra Reddy and Krupanandam were acquitted. The CBI is now contesting that decision in the High Court.
Meanwhile, in a related development, senior IAS officer Srilakshmi was recently named an accused in the same case after the Telangana High Court dismissed her criminal revision petition.
All four convicts in the case Janardhan Reddy, Rajagopal, Srinivas Reddy, and Maqsood Ali Khan have been granted conditional bail by the High Court and are currently out of jail.
