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Hyderabad, June 9: Andhra police have registered a case against a judge suspended a week ago for allegedly taking bribe to grant bail to former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy in an illegal mining case.
The case was yesterday handed over to the anti-corruption bureau, which today filed an FIR against T. Pattabhirama Rao, the former first additional special judge for CBI cases, and six of his accomplices, including former Karnataka minister Gali Somasekhar Reddy. The police said all seven could be arrested soon.
On June 2, Pattabhirama Rao was suspended by then Andhra Pradesh High Court chief justice Madan B. Lokur after the CBI unearthed evidence that he allegedly took bribes to grant bail in an illegal mining case involving the Obulapuram Mining Company.
The CBI disclosed to the high court collegium that the judge was initially paid Rs 2.87 crore by Janardhan Reddy’s aides to give bail to four persons. But the final deal was struck at Rs 10 crore.
According to the deal struck by mediators for the judge and the tainted mining baron, Pattabhirama Rao had agreed to release Janardhan Reddy, his brother-in-law B.V. Srinivas Reddy, suspended IAS officer Y. Srilakshmi and former director of mines V.D. Rajagopal one after another.
During the probe, the CBI recovered a part of the bribe cash from the lockers of a Hyderabad nationalised bank belonging to the judge’s family. It also produced video clips of a secret meeting held by Gali Janardhan Reddy’s aides in a Hyderabad hotel with the judge’s mediators. This led to Pattabhirama Rao’s suspension.
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