The tale of mining baron and a king pin in the Bangalore political arena, Gali Janardhana Reddy, took a plunge into the negative side with his arrest and being lodged in the Chenchalguda Prison.
Reddy has been kept in the additional cell due to security concerns taking into view his high profile nature, no special amenities have been granted to him. His first night in prison was, however, not short of a small incident when he refused to eat the food that was given to him, saying that he had a packet of biscuits and was content with it.
Reddy known for his king size living is undergoing a lean patch in his life. The man who had all the luxuries at his disposal is now at low ebb. Because from being bankrupt and with debts, to the tune of few crores, by the end of the 90’s has emerged out and today admits that he and his wife together own assets worth 150 Cr. Reddy and his associates have been named in the mining scandal that shook the country with revelation of amounts that could not be imagined by a common man.
The former minister and MLC from Karnataka, Reddy (44) owned almost anything a rich man could ever dream of. He owns an apartment Parijat, beside the Taj West end, a five star hotel in Bangalore. Reddy has been an ardent devotee of Tirupathy Balaji where he donated a diamond-studded crown worth over Rs 40 Cr and has another at his residence in Bellary.
But the real thrill is his house at Bellary, a seven star luxury residence accommodated the state of art technology. The House was equipped with a Helipad, indoor swimming pool, expansive 70mm screen, parked with limousines from across the world. The play area to children was a three-storied complex next to his residence in Bellary meant only for his children to frolic around. Reddy's kids never go out for security reasons, while select children of the locality and those of his associates come and play in the complex.
Reddy's house is like a fortress, there are three check points with scanners and bomb detectors before one pulls up at the entrance. Gun-toting security men are a common visual in his house. The diamond studded crown revolving on a sandalwood carving, illuminated by light, welcomes the visitor. There is an exclusive conference room named Kuteera, is meant for political purposes, which houses huge portraits of former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, senior leader L K Advani, opposition leader in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and former CM B S Yeddyurappa.
Under pressure from all quarters, Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah sought a CBI probe into the mining controversy on November 17, 2009 and so the arrest. The king size life is reduced to a prison cell. But let’s wait and watch how the law takes its course.
