Four days after his ‘mysterious disappearance’ amidst speculation that he was trying to evade arrest by the CBI for his alleged role in striking a Rs 60 crore deal with the Hyderabad CBI special court judge Pattabhi Ramarao for ensuring bail for his younger brother Gali Janardhan Reddy, KMF chairman Gali Somashekhar Reddy surfaced before the media to assert his innocence and hit out at his political opponents for tarnishing his family’s image.
The Bellary City MLA Reddy, who addressed a press conference at the Sreeramulu-led BSR party office, denied that he had gone underground and said he was on a trip to meet legal experts in New Delhi and Kolkata. “As an elder brother, I have the responsibility of securing him bail. I am in touch with the country’s top legal experts”, he said.
According to Mr Reddy, no CBI officer has approached him so far nor has anyone asked him to make an appearance before agency officials. “I have faith in the judiciary and the CBI. It’s true that I was present in the Hyderabad CBI court on May 11 when bail was granted to Janardhan Reddy since I am in charge of my brother’s legal affairs”, he added. When asked about his alleged role in the payoff to the CBI judge, Mr Reddy said: “When I did not even know the name of the judge, how can I be responsible for the cash said to have been found in the lockers of his son?” He claimed that the “bribe for bail” episode was a political conspiracy hatched by opponents.