The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out a raid on Thursday, concentrating on the residences of Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s (BRS) Patancheru MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy and his sibling, Gudem Madhusudan Reddy, in reference to an alleged illicit mining operation valued at Rs 300 crore in Telangana.
Initiated at roughly 5 am, the raid focused the MLA’s abode on Rammandir Street in Patancheru, in addition to the residence of his brother in Srinagar Colony. The operation concerned the confiscation of cell gadgets belonging to the MLA and his kin, persisting for a number of hours.
Upon studying of the raid, supporters of the MLA endeavored to achieve entry to the premises however have been thwarted by CRPF personnel. Notable paperwork have been procured by the ED staff. Following the completion of the search, Madhusudan Reddy was escorted to his household’s GMR operate corridor round 7 pm for interrogation.
These actions transpired in relation to the misappropriation of funds amounting to Rs 300 crore by Madhusudan Reddy’s enterprise, Santosh Sand and Granite Provide Firm, via illicit mining. A separate staff carried out a search of the quarry.
Info signifies that the corporate secured permission for a gravel quarry in Survey No. 738 of Patancheru Mandal Lakdaram. Permission was granted by the Division of Underground Mines to function inside an expanse of 4.23 hectares from 2012 to 2027.
Nevertheless, Madhusudan Reddy not solely extracted and bought gravel inside the leased premises but in addition encroached upon adjoining territory. Allegedly, the corporate occupied a further 4.37 hectares the place mining operations have been carried out.
It has come to mild that excavations have been undertaken sans the requisite environmental clearances from the State-Degree Environmental Influence Evaluation Authority (SEIAA). Subsequent to the revelation, authorities ordered the cessation of quarrying actions on March 10. Nonetheless, Madhusudan Reddy flouted the directives and persevered with the mining operations.
Officers assert that Madhusudan Reddy illicitly extracted 11,93,743 cubic meters of gravel surpassing the licensed restrict inside the leased territory, accruing a royalty debt of Rs 21.10 crore to the federal government. The market worth of the mixture quantities to Rs 163.03 crores. Moreover, roughly 10,11,763 cubic meters of gravel have been extracted from the encroached space, necessitating a royalty cost of Rs.17.89 crores to the federal government. The market worth of this gravel is estimated at Rs 137.60 crores.
Investigations have revealed that Madhusudan Reddy amassed belongings valued at roughly Rs 300 crores via illicit mining actions. Beforehand, he was apprehended following a grievance lodged by Patancheru Tehsildar regarding authorities land encroachment, subsequently launched on bail.
Following the ED raid, MLA Mahipal Reddy asserted, “The Central and state governments are subjecting all Opposition leaders to harassment. Political pressures are commonplace, and such occurrences have been witnessed up to now. We don’t yield to stress. We’ve got totally cooperated with the ED’s investigation and furnished all requisite documentation. Neither forex nor valuable metals have been found on the premises.”