Rajagopal arrested in mining case

HYDERABAD: Former vice-chairman and managing director of the AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) V D Rajagopal was arrested by the CBI in the illegal mining case in which former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy is the prime accused. Sources in the agency said the ground is now set for the arrest of more government officials, including IAS officers, who allegedly played a role in the scam.Rajagopal, now retired, is the first government official to be arrested in the case. The CBI said in its FIR that government officials conspired with Obulapuram Mining Corporation (OMC) to gift leases to the latter to mine iron ore and transport it to places where it did not have a mining licence.Janardhan Reddy and OMC managing director B V Srinivas Reddy were arrested on Sept. 5 and Rajagopal is the third person to be arrested in the case. Though only Janardhan Reddy and Srinivas Reddy figured in the FIR initially, CBI later included the names of others including Rajagopal and another IAS officer in it.After several rounds of grilling, CBI sleuths found that Rajagopal was allegedly instrumental in the transfer of about six mines belonging to other companies to OMC. Rajagopal was at the helm of affairs in the APMDC (2005-2010) when this happened, sources said. It is learnt that Rajagopal received some favours for doing this.Rajagopal’s arrest was disclosed after the CBI grilled him for more than two hours on Saturday at the Dilkusha guest house. He was reportedly also questioned in the case relating to Kadapa MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s assets. Rajagopal left the guest house around 2.30 pm Saturday and CBI sleuths conducted searches once again at his house.After the search, the sleuths reportedly packed a few belongings of Rajagopal, including a few pairs of clothes and blankets from the house, giving an indication of his possible arrest. He was reportedly taken into custody by evening and his arrest was formally confirmed by night.Rajagopal is charged under various sections of IPC and under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Mines and Geology Act and Forest Act.Later in the evening, CBI officials produced Rajagopal before a magistrate in his house, who asked the CBI to produce Rajagopal in court on Monday morning.