The CBI is suspecting the involvement of several heavyweights, including two Karnataka MLAs, a retired judge and a realtor and rowdy-sheeter, besides a junior advocate in the deal for bail that was allegedly struck between CBI court judge T. Pattabhi Rama Rao and incarcerated former Karnataka minister and Obulapuram Mining scam accused Gali Janardhan Reddy.
The CBI has submitted a detailed report to the Chief Justice of the AP high court regarding the alleged transaction. It is now looking at options like handing over the case to the Anti-Corruption Bureau through the state government or to issue a separate FIR after the state requests the Centre to hand over the case to the CBI.
Agency sources said that the deal amounted to `15 crore. CBI officials recovered `3 crore from the bank locker and residences of the brother of one of the middleman, Mr Chalapathi Rao, a retired judge. Sources said that about `6 crore went to the middlemen.
While the CBI had done most of the investigation on Saturday, May 26, the issue came to light only on Thursday when the high court suspended Mr Pattabhi Rama Rao.
Sources said that the CBI started looking for the cash thanks to a tip-off received due to internal squabbles between the middlemen. The CBI was also monitoring the phone calls of the suspects.
CBI officials visited the Ashoknagar branch of SBI and learnt that the lockers were not in anyone’s name but the judge’s son was operating them. The keys were recovered from the judge’s son from the judges’ quarters at Banjara Hills. Sources said that cash was recovered from lockers of two banks.
The cash was allegedly brought from Bellary by Mr Janardhan Reddy¹s brother, Mr Somasekhara Reddy and another MLA from Kampili, Mr Suresh. The CBI, however, is yet to ascertain whether the cash came to Hyderabad via hawala or was brought in by road. The cash was distributed from a star hotel at Banjara Hills to the middlemen who allegedly handed it over to the judge’s son. The CBI will be going over CCTV footage to ascertain who visited the hotel; it is also suspecting that Mr Somasekhara Reddy stayed in the same hotel.