In a setback to mining baron-turned-politician Gali Janardhana Reddy, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Tuesday, June 13 ordered the seizure of his properties and those in the name of his wife Gali Aruna Laxmi until criminal cases against them are disposed of. The CBI had submitted a petition before the court seeking the seizure of 124 properties belonging to the couple, valued to the extent of R 65.05 crore. However, the court permitted the seizure of only 82 properties under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act. Out of the properties that have been seized, 77 belong to Janardhana Reddy and 5 to his wife.
The former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka had given consent on January 12 for the seizure of properties after being rapped by the Karnataka High Court. The CBI had sought permission to seize properties belonging to Janardhana Reddy in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. When the state government did not give permission, the CBI filed the petition.
Gali Janardhana Reddy had floated a new political party before the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka. He won from Gangavathi and his wife Aruna pushed the BJP to third place in the Bellary City seat. During the campaign, Reddy claimed that he would not bother much about the seizure of his properties and I-T(Income Tax) raids. He had further stated that during the time of his arrest, property worth Rs 1,200 crore was seized but he managed to win the case in the High Court.
Janardhana Reddy also stated that his properties had increased from Rs 1,200 crore to Rs 4,000 crore.