By Mohd Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad: CBI investigating the illegal mining cases of the Oblapuram Mining Corporation [OMC] had already arrested its owner Mr. Gali Janardhan Reddy [former BJP MLA and Minister of Tourism AP]. Besides these king pins like Gali Janardhan Reddy and Srinivas Reddy, both arrested and lodged in the Chanchalguda prison in Hyderabad; the CBI is now on a hunt for the top bureaucrats, believed to have misused their official posts in helping OMC to get the mining lease illegally and to carry out their business in Andhra Pradesh [AP].
CBI later arrested V.D Rajgopal one among the top I.A.S officers in AP; he was the director general of Mines and Geology when the OMC won the lease, he is accused of misusing his official position to benefit OMC intentionally by keeping quiet on the violation of mining laws and by allowing it to exploit iron ore in the un allotted areas.
The next top bureaucrat got in to the CBI net was Yerra Srilakshmi, a 1988 batch IAS officer presently the commissioner for Women and Children Welfare. She was secretary to the Industries and Commerce department when OMC got the mining lease. She is the first women IAS officer from the state to be arrested in the corruption cases.
The special CBI court remanded her for three days under the CBI custody. According to the CBI, Mrs. Lakshmi misused her official position as the secretary of industries and commerce by not mentioning that mining lease could only be granted for the purpose of captive mining. Thus she intentionally allowed OMC to exhume the iron ores from the two mines and helped them in exporting it to make huge gains.
The CBI says that, she had further persuaded government of India to issue a prior approval to OMC under section five of the mines and minerals (development and regulation) act of 1957. She stated that company will be utilising the iron ore for confined consumption citing that OMC is setting up an integrated steel plant and she assured the central government that all prerequisites and formalities would be taken care of later.
The CBI accuses her of allegedly favouring the OMC by rejecting the applications from other companies by giving invalid and incorrect reasons. She issued GOs 151, 152, in favour of OMC to provide them with the lease for two mining sites, with out even waiting for other applicants to file a reply. The CBI states that this all shows a close nexus between her and OMC.
Being arrested she was taken to the C.B.I headquarters as she was reluctant to stay in police prison; CBI officials states that she is not cooperative towards interrogations.
CBI is expecting to dig out some more names of the politicians and bureaucrats, involved in the 5000 crore scam by further interrogating her. V.D Rajgopal’s and Yerra Srilakshmi’s arrests have stunned the bureaucracy. Government is now expected to take tough actions against them as a sign of intolerance towards corruption and to give a tough message to all bureaucrats; who were easygoing in compromising the rule of law, to please their political bosses in order to fulfil their career and personal ambitions.