Tapal Ganesh, who waged a lone battle against the illegal mining activities on the Inter-State boundary (ISB), allegedly by Obulapuram Mining Company owned by mining baron G. Janardhan Reddy, has appealed to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to oppose the application filed by Reddy seeking relaxation of bail and permit him to visit Ballari, his home town and district.
“The ISB dispute between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh is yet to be settled. The ISB was destroyed allegedly by Reddy and he was accused of plundering lakhs of tonnes of iron ore from mines in Karnataka on the ISB. Reddy and his associates are still powerful and the relaxation of bail, allowing him to visit Ballari, would further aggravate the issue. Secondly, me and my brother Tapal Ekambaram are prime witnesses in the chargesheet filed by the CBI against OMC and Reddy and we apprehend threat if he is allowed to visit Ballari”, Mr. Ganesh told presspersons here on Wednesday.
Mr. Ganesh, circulating the letter written by him to the CBI Joint Director in Hyderabad, has mentioned about V. Anjaneyalu, the then Manager of OMC, admitting in a sworn affidavit before the Supreme Court that ISB pillars and rock marks were destroyed at the behest of Reddy. The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee, after carrying out a detailed investigation, had summarily recommended cancellation of iron ore mines granted to OMC.
“Reddy had made an attempt on my life in 2010 and had also attempted to purchase judges of certain lower courts in Andhra Pradesh. These stand testimony to their ill-gotten financial strength and their intention to work against the law. Reddy, if allowed to visit Ballari, would use all his influence and powers to scuttle establishing the ISB. He is very well aware that if resolved he would languish in jail for some more years. Therefore, I have appealed to the CBI to object his plea for relaxation of his bail”, he said.
