OMC Scam: Gali's PA Ali Khan Sent To Jail

The special CBI court, on Friday, sent Mehfuz Ali Khan, the personal assistant of mining baron and former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, to judicial custody till October 17, in the Obulapuram Mining Corporation scam.

Ali Khan, an accused in the Associated Mining Company (AMC) scam, along with Gali Janardhana Reddy and others, has been lodged in a Bangalore jail, ever since his surrender before a court in Bangalore on March 2.

Following a petition filed by the CBI, the special CBI court, on September 27, issued a prisoner transit warrant to produce Ali Khan before it on Friday in connection with the OMC scam. He was brought to the city on Thursday night, and produced before the court.

The CBI alleged that there was a crucial link between Gali Janardhan Reddy and Mehfuz Ali Khan in the OMC scam.

The CBI has already filed a charge sheet against Gali Janardhan Reddy, his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy, and others, in December last year, and also against suspended IAS officer Y Srilakshmi.

OMC has been accused of changing the mining lease boundary markings between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, as well as indulging in illegal mining in Bellary Reserve Forest's areas between Karnataka's Bellary district and Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district.

The CBI has also filed a petition in the CBI court, seeking custody of Mehfuz Ali Khan for further questioning. (INN)