Amid tight security, Karnataka former Minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy was on Friday produced before a special court in Bangalore which remanded him to CBI custody till March 12, 2012 in connection with an illegal mining case.
Mr. Reddy and 20 others are facing charges for their alleged involvement in illegal mining, over which the Central Bureau of Investigation had filed an FIR against them in October 2011.
Mr. Reddy was brought to Bangalore from Hyderabad in the early hours of Friday and later escorted into the court.
Associated Mining Corporation (AMC) and Deccan Mining Syndicate (DMC) owned by Mr. Reddy and his wife Aruna Lakshmi have been facing probe over charges of illegal mining.
Additional Civil and Sessions Court judge B.M. Angadi remanded Mr. Reddy to custody after the CBI moved an application in this regard.
Former Minister and Congress leader V. Muniyappa and few other officials are the other accused in the case.
Advocates, journalists clash
The city civil court complex, where the CBI court is located, witnessed trouble following an altercation between a section of advocates and media persons over filming of the events that followed production of Mr. Reddy before the court.
A cameraperson was injured when some advocates attacked camera crew of some regional channels following which media persons staged a protest at the court premises.
Expressing displeasure over the attack on media persons, Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda has asked Law Minister S. Suresh Kumar to look into the issue.
