Nephew Kampli MLA Suresh Babu sings uncle Sriramulu’s swansong?

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Aug 1 2012: 

The sensational “cash for bail” scam which has snared Kampli MLA Suresh Babu, and is set to expose the role played by his uncle and Bellary MLA B. Sreeramulu in arranging for a whopping bribe to be paid to a judge to bail out his friend and mentor Janardhan Reddy, could also nail the last of the powerful Reddy clan.

Somashekara Reddy, the head of the Karnataka Milk Federation is in hiding somewhere in Anantapur district and is rumoured to have begun negotiations over his surrender. If and when he does surrender to the Andhra Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), it could spell the end of both, the Bellary brothers’ decade long hold over the mine-rich city and the nascent solo political career of Reddy confidante BSR Congress party chief B. Sreeramulu.

The ACB, probing the scam has leads in the investigation that point to the Reddy-Sreeramulu camp abetting the offense. In the confession statement by the arrested Kampli MLA Suresh Babu, made available exclusively to this newspaper, Bellary (ST) Independent MLA Sreeramulu and other influential persons in the family are seen as having worked different channels to secure bail for the imprisoned former minister Gali Janardhan Reddy by influencing the judges. The confession has now further established the role played by his uncle Sreeramulu in striking a bail deal. ACB would like to question him and mark the extent of his participation in this deal.

A Hyderabad-based realtor Ravi Surya Prakash Babu was the first to reveal Mr Sreeramulu’s role in the deal. The realtor, now arrested by ACB reportedly struck a deal with Sreeramulu and had unsuccessfully attempted to influence CBI court judge Pattabhi Rama Rao through two other judges Lakshmi Narasimha Rao and Prabhakar Rao.

CONFESSIONS OF A REDDY INSIDER
* n On 21/4/2012 in the evening my uncle B. Sreeramulu, MLA called me and informed me that one Sr R. Suryaprakash Babu, R/O Hyderabad knows some judges in Hyderabad and he is ready to help in the manner of securing bail to Sri Gali Janardhan Reddy

* On 9/5/2012 Sri Gali Somashekara Reddy informed me ...for managing the CBI judge Sri T. Pattabhi Rama Rao for granting bail, Yadagiri Rao (the alleged intermediary) demanded Rs 20 crore in all — Rs 5 crores for Sri T. Pattabhi Rama Rao, Judge, Rs 5 crore to Sri Chalapathi Rao, a retd Judge, Rs 5 crore to himself, and Rs 5 crore towards High Court expenditure

* On 10/5/2012 Mr Somashekara informed me that he would arrange for Rs 5 crore by disposing gold ingots at Hyderabad through a gold merchant of Bellary