Former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy’s personal assistant Mehfuz Ali Khan on Friday cried foul before a judge here on Friday alleging that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had summoned him as a witness and booked him in a false case at Bangalore.
Khan was produced before the judge of the special court for CBI cases in pursuance of a prisoner’s transit warrant ordered by the High Court. The CBI had sought the warrant to bring him from the Bangalore central jail to probe his role in the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) scam. He had surrendered in a court at Bangalore on the same day when Gali Janardhan Reddy was shifted there from here in March to face trial in Associated Mining Company (AMC) scam. Khan was reportedly absconding for several months until then.
When an escort police party from Karnataka produced Khan in the court on Friday, he took the judge U. Durga Prasad Rao’s permission to speak a few words and went on to say that the CBI was unfair to him in registering a false case against him in connection with the OMC scam. There were 205 witnesses in the OMC case but not a single person spoke against him. At this stage, the judge asked Khan to express his grievance through his lawyer.
Earlier, the counsel for Khan informed the judge that his client was directed by CBI to go into hiding. He did not abscond as claimed by CBI. However, the CBI counsel claimed he absconded.
In the court for ACB cases, Gali Janardhan Reddy was produced in the bail scam involving him and his judicial remand was extended up to October 19. He moved a bail petition which will also come up on the same day.