Reddy aide ignores CBI summons

The CBI probe into the illegal mining activities of former Karnataka minister G Janardhan Reddy,now in judicial custody,and his Obulapuram Mining Company have suffered a minor setback due to the failure of a personal assistant of Reddy to appear before the agency despite summons.

The personal assistant of the former minister,Mahfouz Ali Khan,25,who was also the managing partner in two iron ore firms that have been identified as front companies of Reddy,is the only one among three Reddy aides who have not responded to CBI summons for questioning since Reddy’s arrest on September 5.

CBI officials said two other persons,K V Nagaraj and K Mahesh,both iron ore transporters and considered key players in the alleged illegal extraction and smuggling of iron ore from Bellary in Karnataka,had appeared at the CBI’s Hyderabad office and been questioned.

“Khan as a personal assistant of Reddy was a repository of all information on all the activities and he is considered key to the probe. We have information that he is attempting to abscond. He is not using any of his telephones either,” sources said.