The Central Crime Branch Police on Sunday, 11 November arrested mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy on charges of money laundering and bribery after grilling him for two days in connection with the Ambident Group scam.
Janardhana Reddy will be taken for a medical test and later will be produced before a magistrate, TV reports said. He will be held at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru till his bail hearing at the sessions court on Monday, 12 November.
According to CCB sources, Janardhana Reddy did not cooperate with the investigators during questioning.
“We wanted to know whether he was involved in Ambidant’s business operations or with Fareed, whether he had invested in the company. He kept denying even knowing about Ambidant. When asked whether he knew Fareed, Janardhana Reddy said he had met him a couple of times, but was not involved in Fareed’s business,” the CCB source added.
The investigating officers said that Janardhana Reddy denied knowledge of Ali Khan’s involvement with Ambidant. “We have proof of Ali Khan having a share in Ambidant but Reddy denied any knowledge of Ali Khan’s involvement. When we asked him whether he took a bribe of Rs 20 crore from Fareed to bail him out of the trouble with the Enforcement Directorate, he was dismissive and said: ‘I am not able to get out of my own trouble, how will I bail him out of trouble?’,” the source added.
CCB sleuths supposedly told Reddy that they had documented proof of his involvement in the money laundering and bribery case. “He asked to see the documents and also said that the police were framing him. He did not answer any of the questions properly,” the source added.
CCB sources say that Reddy’s personal assistant Ali Khan was also questioned and hence he was booked under Arms Act for possessing five live bullets, which the CCB sleuths found in Ali Khan’s RT Nagar residence.
“Ali Khan’s gun licence had lapsed and he was in possession of live bullets illegally. We have booked him under Arms Act too,” the source added.
Janardhana Reddy will be taken for a medical examination to Victoria Hospital and later transferred to Parappana Agrahara Central Prison.
The CCB had summoned him in connection to an investigation against Ambidant Marketing Ltd suspected to be involved in a Ponzi scheme. Janardhana Reddy was accused of shielding perpetrators from being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). He is currently being questioned by officials of the CCB over the case.
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