IAS officer gets bail in illegal mining case in Karnataka

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A local court on Friday granted bail to senior IAS officer Yerra Srilakshmi who was arrested on charges of abusing her official position and granting favours to a mining company owned by former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy.

A special court for CBI cases here, which had on Thursday reserved its order on Srilakshmi's petition, enlarged her on bail on a bond of Rs 25,000 and two sureties of like amount.

The development comes even as the CBI is all set to file charge sheet in the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) case in a day or two.

Judge Naga Maruthi Sarma, in his order, directed that she should make herself available before the CBI whenever required for the purpose of investigation.

"The petitioner (Srilakshmi) should not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him to disclose such facts to the investigation agency and to the court," the judge observed.

He asked Srilakshmi to surrender her passport. She was arrested by the CBI on Monday for allegedly favouring OMC in grant of mining leases in 2007.

According to prosecution, she was Secretary, Industries, when she issued the orders granting ore mining leases to OMC, owned by Janardhana Reddy, a co-accused in the case, in Anantapur district.

After her arrest, the officer was lodged in the Chengalguda central prison here. Other accused in the case are OMC mining director B. V. Srinivas Reddy and the then Mining and Geology Department Director V D Rajagopal, who are currently in prison.

Srilakhsmi, who held the post of Comissioner, Family Welfare, at the time of the arrest, was suspened by the Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday.