Court allows attachment of 82 properties of Janardhana Reddy and wife
Bengaluru, Jun 13: A special court in Bengaluru has ordered for the attachment of 82 immovable properties belonging to former minister and accused in the illegal iron ore mining scam in Ballari, G Janardhana Reddy and his wife G Lakshmi Aruna.
The Special Court exclusively to deal with criminal cases related to elected former and sitting MPs/MLAs in Karnataka gave its order on June 12 on a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The CBI had sought the attachment of six properties of Janardhana Reddy and 118 properties in the name of Lakshmi Aruna.
However, the court allowed the attachment of five properties in the name of Reddy as one of the six listed by the CBI was not in his name.
As for the properties in the name of Lakshmi Aruna, the court found that she had "acquired some of the properties prior to the date of offence i.e., 01.01.2009. Those cannot be attached and it cannot be said that those properties were acquired by the Objector by means of offence alleged," the Court said and allowed only 77 of the 118 properties to be attached.
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The attachment is connected to the 2012 complaint against Government officials for involvement in the Ballari illegal iron ore mining scam.
After investigation by the CBI, a supplementary charge sheet included the names of Janardhana Reddy and others in the case in 2013.
The CBI claimed that there were "reason to believe that G Janardhana Reddy had acquired majority of the assets mentioned in the schedule of properties through the proceeds of the aforesaid offences," and sought their attachment in an application filed in the case.
The Court ordered in 2021 that the application be delinked and a separate case be filed.
A criminal miscellaneous petition was filed by the CBI in 2022 seeking the attachment. The Court's order allowing the attachment was passed on June 12, 2023.
There are 21 accused in the case. The Special Court recorded that the CBI had claimed "The respondent has committed alleged offences causing a loss of Rs.198 crores to the Government Exchequer, towards illegal sale and export of iron ore quantity 6.05 lakh MT.
The properties sought to be attached as per the schedule are worth Rs 65.05 crore which are purportedly acquired though the proceeds of the crime by respondent in his name as well as in the name of his wife and his companies." Allegedly the illegal iron ore was sold to Ms Eagle Traders and Logistics and further sold to SB Logistics which was illegally mined and transported through the help of the other accused including government officials.
Reddy's wife is also a partner in the Associated Mining Company which is in the centre of the mining scam. Another company of Reddy, Obalapuram Mining Company is also mired in related illegal mining scam..
Reddy and Lakshmi Aruna could have provided security in lieu of the attachment. The Court noted that they have not done so and went ahead with the order of attachment.
"So far from the date of filing this petition, neither the respondent nor the objector have applied seeking permission to give security in lieu of such attachment and offered to give security to the satisfaction of this Court. The respondent and objector could have avoided attachment order by furnishing security to the satisfaction of this Court. They have not made any attempt. Instead they have contested the petition," the Court noted.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
