Bellary (Karnataka), Sep 11 (IANS) As mining baron and former Karnataka minister G. Janardhana Reddy spent a week in jail in an illegal mining case, raids continued on residences of his aides to collect more details of his business network.


Four teams of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Sunday searched the residences of four Reddy associates in this north Karnataka town, about 300 km from Bangalore, a CBI spokesperson said.

He declined to give details on whether any documents had been seized.

A six-member team searched the residence of Gurulinge Gowda, chairman of Bellary Urban Development Authority while another group did the same at the house of Rajashekar Gowda, a member of Bellary Zilla Panchayat (district council).

Two other teams raided the residences of two businessmen, Bhaskar Reddy and Venkatesh Reddy.

The CBI teams had come from Hyderabad as Janardhana Reddy has been arrested for illegal mining in Andhra Pradesh.

He was detained Sep 5 at Bellary, his political base, and is now in Chanchalaguda prison in Hyderabad. Also jailed is managing director of Reddy-owned Obulapuram Mining Company B. V. Srinivas Reddy.

The two Reddys have applied for bail and hearing would resume in a CBI court in Hyderabad Monday.

Janardhana Reddy, who was tourism minister in the B. S. Yeddyurappa ministry which went out on July 31, is a member of the Karnataka legislative council.