For the first time since the sensational bail scam involving former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy broke out in May end, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cited him as an accused when it filed a charge-sheet in a court here on Thursday.
Apart from Janardhan Reddy, his brother and Bellary MLA Somashekhar Reddy, Kampli MLA T.H. Suresh Babu and their relative Dashrathram Reddy figured as accused. The last three were also named in a separate charge-sheet in the scam earlier. Sources said the charge-sheet was a descriptive analysis of how Prabhakar Rao and Lakshmi Narasimha Rao tried to influence the previous CBI judge B. Nagamaruti Sarma with an offer of Rs.40 crore. When Mr. Sarma declined it, they approached Pattabhirama Rao with the help of a conduit R. Suryaprakash Babu who is also an accused. The document referred to Lakshmi Narasimha Rao demanding a sum of Rs.500 crore from Somashekhar Reddy and Dashrathram Reddy, but later arriving at an understanding for Rs.100 crore.
The court granted bail to Pattabhirama Rao’s son Ravichandra and a junior advocate T. Aditya on the ground that they were youth who were in no position to influence witnesses or trial. The allegations against them were not serious. The court struck down the bail applications of Pattabhirama Rao, Somashekhar Reddy, Suresh Babu, Dashrathram Reddy and a rowdy sheeter P. Yadagiri Rao.
