New Delhi : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Monday seized Rs.3 crore in cash and more than 30 kg of gold from the residence of former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy at Bellary in Karnataka.

The CBI, which arrested Janardhana Reddy in an illegal mining case, also found several incriminating documents during searches at his residence.

Janardhana Reddy, director of Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), and managing director Srinivas Reddy were arrested and later brought to Hyderabad to be presented in a court.

Unconfirmed reports say CBI also seized Janardhana Reddy’s helicopter. According to a CBI statement in New Delhi, cash of more than Rs.1.5 crore and several incriminating documents were found at the premises of Srinivas Reddy.

It was on Dec 7, 2009 that CBI Hyderabad had registered a case under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Indian Forest Act, and the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, regarding the alleged illegal mining by OMC and others.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Dec 14, 2009 granted an interim stay on the CBI investigation. On a writ appeal filed by CBI, a division bench of the high court vacated the stay on Dec 16, 2010. However, the court ordered CBI to limit itself to the illegal mining activity of the said firms and not to probe the boundary disputes till they are decided by the committee constituted on the orders of the Supreme Court.

After vacation of the stay, the CBI Hyderabad started investigation of the case and till now around 1,530 documents and 112 iron ore samples had been collected and around 85 witnesses/suspects have been examined, said the CBI statement.