The Anantapur police on Thursday seized about Rs.4.9 crore from a lorry near Guntakal in Andhra Pradesh.
The driver alleged that the money belonged to Obulapuram Mining Corporation Managing Director B.V. Srinivas Reddy, now in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Police said the lorry started from Bellary in the morning but its destination was not known. It was registered in the name of a person from Proddatur in Kadapa district.
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The vehicle was intercepted following a tip-off that money from the OMC could be shifted to various locations.
As the CBI had also alerted the local police to keep a watch on vehicles, two special teams were posted in the Guntakal and Uravakonda areas.
In Hyderabad, the CBI officials questioned G. Somasekhar Reddy, brother of Gali Janardhana Reddy; and the original complainant in the illegal mining episode, Tappal Ganesh.
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Mr. Ganesh told journalists that he had submitted evidence of how the OMC had penetrated into his lease area to carry out mining.
He is one of the owners of the TNR mining company in Bellary and took the case of illegal mining against the Reddy brothers to the Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka High Courts and the Supreme Court.
Another brother of Mr. Janardhana Reddy, Karunakara Reddy, is likely to appear before the investigation team on Friday.
His house was earlier searched by the CBI teams.
The former director of mines and geology department of the Andhra Pradesh government, D. Rajagopal, was questioned on Thursday.