OMC: AP minister accuses Srilakshmi

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Home Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy has reportedly told CBI that she was misguided by IAS officer Y Srilakshmi into allotting mining leases to Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) owned by former Karnataka minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy.Named as a witness in the case, Sabita, then minister for mines, reportedly told the CBI a few months back that she had no role in giving mining leases to OMC.In its case diary, the agency said the Srilakshmi prepared a file stating that OMC would carry out captive mining of iron ore for the Brahmani Steels project and secured the minister’s assent, but then issued a GO without the word ‘captive’.This allegedly allowed OMC to ship ore from Anantapur.These contentions are in the CBI’s charge-sheet submitted to the CBI special court.The then Union mines secretary Anil Subrahmanyam, who is the first witness in the case, reportedly told the CBI a few days ago that he issued mining leases upon receiving approvals from Srilakshmi.The CBI recovered the correspondence between the two.The CBI is likely to add the name of Srilakshmi, who is the third accused in the case, in the supplementary charge-sheet.Meanwhile, the CBI on Friday filed a counter-affidavit in the special CBI court opposing bail for G Janardhana Reddy and his brotherin- law B V Srinivas Reddy.The hearing was posted to December 22.