CBI yet to be granted access to Gali aide

HYDERABAD: Special judge B Nagamaruthi Sarma of the CBI court on Thursday posted to April 19 the petition filed by the investigative agency seeking that Mahafuz Ali Khan, the personal assistant to mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy, be produced in Hyderabad to enable them to probe his role in the OMC mining scam. The probe agency is also seeking Khan’s inclusion as an accused in the OMC case.
The counsel for Ali Khan objected to the CBI plea to have his client as an accused given that no mention whatsoever has been made about his role in the scam. Ali Khan’s counsel alleged that CBI officials had advised his client to go underground when he had earlier appeared before its sleuths in Hyderabad. “We filed an affidavit to this effect before the Bangalore high court. It is unfair to show Ali Khan as accused now,” he said. The judge then asked for a copy of the said affidavit and posted the case to April 19.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, CBI on Thursday filed a counter in the court opposing Gali Janardhan Reddy’s bail plea. This case, too, will come up for hearing on April 19.