Ex-Karnataka minister Janardhana Reddy used fake permits from AP to carry out illegal mining operations

October 10, 2013

Janardhana_ReddyBangalore, Oct 10: It's rather ironic that former Karnataka tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy is cooling his heels in Hyderabad's Chanchalguda prison, considering that it was close business links with Andhra Pradesh that brought him untold riches.

Reddy, who controlled a three-tier system spanning the entire operation of illegal iron ore mining from excavation to the wharfs of Belekeri port, used fake permits from Andhra Pradesh to carry out his operations.

"Reddy's associates, including Swastik Nagaraj and Kharapudi Mahesh, were delivering envelopes containing fake permits of the Andhra Pradesh department of mines and geology, forest permits, invoices, et al for the transportation of illegal ore to Belekeri port during January 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010," according to a chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) before the special CBI court here.

The document reveals that racketeers created firms, including Shafia Minerals, Manjunatheswara Minerals, in the names of their employees and relatives and printed invoices in their names which they used to give to trucks carrying illegal material, along with fake permits.

"Such firms were opened at the behest of Janardhana Reddy and his personal assistant Mehfuz Ali Khan and huge amounts were routed through the accounts of the said firms...which finally reached Reddy," the CBI has charged.

Pointing out that Ali Khan, Reddy's main accomplice, was managing excavation, weighing and dispatch of illegally extracted ore from various mines, CBI sources said Khan would threaten mine owners and forcibly take away ore they'd mined.

"He was also threatening officials from the forest department, DMG and police among others when they raised objections against illegal extraction/transportation of ore carried out on behalf of Reddy," the chargesheet says.

Janardhana Reddy was not only illegally mining iron ore but extorted money from others involved in the trade. His aides Khan, Mahesh and Nagaraj were in charge of collecting money from trucks carrying ore mined illegally by others. "They collected about Rs 200 per MT (tonne) from each truck carrying illegally extracted ore for arranging safe passage of the trucks for transit to Belekeri," the chargesheet says.

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News Network
May 26,2020

Kasaragod, May 26: Amid relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown norms, Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) and vocational higher secondary education (VHSE) examinations resumed in Kerala on Tuesday.

Schools in the state maintained social distancing norms and other precautionary measures amid the examination. Hand sanitisers were also provided at the centres while wearing face masks was made mandatory for all students.

Students at VHSS Manacaud High School in Thiruvananthapuram were encouraged to follow social distancing norms while they also underwent thermal screening before entering the examination centre.

In Kerala, VHSE and SSLC exams began today. While VHSE is scheduled in the morning, the SSLC exam is held in the afternoon session.

Senior secondary exams are scheduled to begin in the state from May 27.

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News Network
February 18,2020

New Delhi, Feb 18: Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot is the richest minister in the AAP government, according to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Monday.

In a statement, the NGO said, Delhi Election Watch and ADR have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all the seven-party leaders including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

According to the statement, the minister with the lowest declared total assets is Gopal Rai with assets worth Rs 90.01 lakh.

"The minister with the highest declared total assets is Kailash Gahlot from Najafgarh constituency with assets worth Rs 46.07 crore," it stated.

The report by ADR comes on the day Kejriwal and his six ministers took charge after the formation of the new AAP government.

Chief Minister Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues took charge of their respective offices on Monday and asserted that they would work to fulfil the promises made in the "guarantee card", released during the poll campaign, including reduction in pollution and expansion of metro network.

Members of his Cabinet are -- Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Rajendra Pal Gautam, Imran Hussain, Gopal Rai and Kailash Gahlot.

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News Network
February 9,2020

Kochi, Feb 9: P Parameswaran, one of the senior-most "pracharaks" of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and former leader of the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh, died at 91 in the early hours today, Sangh Parivar sources said.

The founder director of the Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram died at 12.10 am while undergoing Ayurvedic treatment at Ottappalam in Kerala's Palakkad district, according to sources.

P Parameswaran, who had worked with leaders like Deendayal Upadhyaya, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani during the Jana Sangh days, was honoured with Padma Vibhushan, the country's second highest civilian award in 2018 and Padma Shri in 2004.

Fondly called as Parameswar ji by Sangh Parivar and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, he was a prolific writer, poet, researcher and a widely-respected RSS ideologue. He was the Bharatiya Jana Sangh's secretary (1967-1971) and vice0president (1971-1977), as well as the director of the Deendayal Research Institute (1977-1982) in New Delhi.

Born in 1927 in Muhamma, Alappuzha district, he joined the RSS during his student days.

His body will be brought to the RSS headquarters in Kochi this morning for people to pay their last respects. The cremation will be held in Muhamma in the evening, sources said.

During the days of Emergency between 1975-77, he courted arrest as part of the all India Satyagraha against it and was jailed for 16 months.

Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram was established by P Parameswaran in 1982 "to promote nationalist thoughts among Keralites".

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