Hyderabad, March 1: Arrested mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy today boarded a police van for a 10-hour road trip to Bangalore to appear before a court after being refused an air ride that he offered to pay for.

Reddy, held since September in an Andhra Pradesh jail in connection with a mining scam, had been told to appear before the CBI special court in Bangalore on March 2 for another case of alleged illegal mining by the Associated Mining Company (AMC), owned by him and his wife.

The former Karnataka minister wanted to fly down to Bangalore and even offered to pay for the helicopter ride, saying he feared a threat to his life if he travelled by road.

He moved a petition through his counsel urging a court directive to Chanchalguda jail authorities to shift him to Bangalore by air at his “own cost”. After a daylong wait, he was escorted to the waiting van.

Two sub-inspectors and eight constables accompanied him.

Gali, along with his brother-in-law B.V. Srinivas Reddy, has been in judicial remand in Chanchalguda Central Prison since September 5 after his arrest in an “illegal” mining case allegedly involving the Obulapuram Mining Company.

The CBI in Karnataka has filed an FIR against 21 persons, including Reddy and his wife Aruna, in connection with illegal quarrying by the AMC.

A police official said: “Even if Janardhana Reddy gets bail in Hyderabad, he will remain in jail till he gets bail in the Karnataka case. He is being produced on a Preventive Transport warrant and the court will remand him in judicial custody. He will be lodged in a Bangalore jail and brought back to Hyderabad later.”