The Central Bureau of Investigation’s Bangalore branch rounded off a week of hectic activity by arresting senior IAS officer Shivalinga Murthy on Saturday.
The IAS officer’s arrest comes close on the heels of the arrest of Kampli MLA Suresh Babu and Karwar MLA Satish Sail in connection with the Supreme Court-referred illegal mining investigation by the CBI.
Mr. Murthy, who surrendered before the CBI court on Saturday, was remanded in judicial custody in connection with the iron ore mining scam involving G. Janardhan Reddy’s Bellary-based Associated Mining Company. Mr. Murthy, who is accused no. 3 in the Supreme Court referred case, has been remanded in judicial custody until October 3. However, his bail application will come up for hearing on September 24. He has been accused of fabricating documents to grant AMC licences to carry out mining when he was the Director of Mines and Geology.
Earlier, Mr. Murthy applied for anticipatory bail before the Karnataka High Court which was rejected. He was arrested and sent to the Bangalore Central Prison when he appeared before the CBI judge on Saturday.
Mr. Sail, who was arrested by the CBI late on Friday night, was produced in the CBI court on Saturday and was remanded in CBI custody until 3 p.m. on September 27.
Mr. Sail is an accused in all the five cases that the CBI is investigating at the Belekeri Port in Uttara Kannada district.
As a stevedore, he allegedly helped three companies — S.B. Logistics Ltd., Dream Logistics Ltd., ILC Industries Ltd. — export ore illegally out of Belekeri Port.
Mallikarjuna Shipping, the fourth company which was part of this illegal export from Belekeri, is owned by Mr. Sail. He is also an accused in the case where iron ore confiscated by the Forest Department vanished from the port in June 2010.
