Sabita says Srilakshmi misled her

HYDERABAD: Home minister P Sabita Indra Reddy has reportedly told CBI that she was misguided by IAS officer Y Srilakshmi into allotting mining leases to Obulapuram Mining Company owned by former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy.This is a direct contradiction of what the officer reportedly told the agency, that she had only done the bidding of personages on high.Named as witness no. 53 in the case, Sabita, then minister for mines, reportedly told the CBI that she had no role in giving leases to OMC and that it was all Srilakshmi’s doing.In its case diary, the agency has said the IAS officer prepared a file stating that OMC would carry out captive mining of iron ore for the Brahmani Steels project and secured the minister’s assent on the file noting, but then issued a GO without the word ‘captive’.This loophole allegedly allowed OMC to ship ore from Anantapur beyond the state. These contentions are contained in the CBI’s charge-sheet which it submitted to the CBI special court. The agency recorded the testimony of Sabita, a few months ago.The agency also examined another retired IAS officer and the then Union mines secretary Anil Subrahmanyam, listed as witness no.1 in the case and recorded his statement a few days ago.Subrahmanyam reportedly maintained that he issued the mining leases upon receiving approvals from Y Srilakshmi. The CBI recovered the correspondence that took place between Srilakshmi and Subrahmanyam.