guardian.co.uk,
Maseeh Rahman in Delhi, Monday 5 September 2011
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| Gali Janardhan Reddy is brought to the Central Bureau of Investigation office in Delhi after he was arrested. Photograph: Mahesh Kumar A/AP |
Indian
police have detained two powerful mining magnates over allegations that they
illegally created a business empire worth billions of dollars, in the first
high-profile arrest since anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare inspired a
wave of protests across the country.
Agents from
the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Gali Janardhan Reddy, the owner of
the Obulapuram Mining Corporation and a former minister in Karnataka state, and
his brother-in-law Srinivas Reddy, the company's managing director, on Monday.
The men face charges of conspiracy, forgery and violation of mining laws.
Manmohan
Singh's beleaguered government has been mired in allegations of corruption
since last year, but nationwide public outrage came to a boil last month when
the 74-year-old Hazare held a two-week hunger strike until parliament agreed to
tougher anti-corruption laws. Hazare's campaign tapped into deep-rooted anger
over the country's endemic corruption, petty and large-scale, which successive
governments have failed to tackle.
Singh, who
appeared to underestimate support for Hazare, has come under increasing
criticism for failing to deal with major corruption scandals in telecommunications,
sports and mining.
"One
motive for the arrests may be to show the government is acting against
corruption," said lawyer Prashant Bhushan, a close aide of Hazare.
"But the CBI acts only when there's political direction, and the fact is
that it suits Delhi politically to arrest the Reddys now. These arrests were
long overdue."
Janardhan
Reddy, with his brothers Karunakara and Somasekhar, had long been accused of
running an illegal iron ore extraction empire along the border of Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh which had devastated the environment, repressed the local
population, corrupted officials, and virtually taken control of the state
government in Karnataka.
"With
these arrests Delhi may be trying to give the impression that it is fighting
corruption," said Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, director of the documentary film
Blood and Iron. "But the arrests should have happened long ago. In many
ways, Janardhan Reddy and his relatives had come to epitomise the convergence
of crime, business and politics in India." As ministers, Janardhan and
Karunakara Reddy were seen as the real power behind chief minister BS
Yeddyurappa, recently forced to resign after a damning report on the state's
illegal mining operations by the ombudsman, Santosh Hegde. He described links
between Karnataka politicians and mining as a "mafia type of
operation."
Due to
Hegde's ground-breaking investigation, the Reddy brothers were also ousted from
the state cabinet last month, but had begun to jockey for a return to power
when the CBI acted. "The loot was allowed to go on with open eyes,"
said Hegde after the arrests. "There were irregularities at every stage of
the business. But the arrests are not because of my report, since the Karnataka
government has still not given the CBI permission to investigate. The arrests are
due to a case filed in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh."
The
distinction drawn by Hegde is loaded with political significance. Karnataka is
ruled by the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), which is in the opposition at the
centre. Andhra, however, is ruled by the Congress party, which is also in power
in Delhi. The achievement of the Reddy brothers, from the city of Bellary in
Karnataka state, was to cosy up to powerful leaders in both the BJP and the
Congress.
"The
loot enriched the two largest political parties in India," said Thakurta.
However,
the death of an Andhra chief minister in a helicopter crash in 2009 seriously
damaged the Reddys' links with the Congress party.
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| Supporters of anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare, in New Delhi. Photograph: Anindito Mukherjee/EPA |
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