No arrests in attack on Bellary mine owner

Bangalore: Police were in the dark on Tuesday about the identity of the people who assaulted a mine owner battling the powerful Reddy brothers of Karnataka over the latter's alleged illegal mining activities in Bellary district, a senior police official said.

"We are working on the case. No arrests have been made so far," Seemanth Kumar Singh, police superintendent of the iron-ore rich Bellary district, about 300 km from here, told IANS on phone.

He said there was no clue yet on who the attackers were.

He said Tapal Ganesh, owner of Tumti Iron Ore, has been provided with an additional gunman for security in the wake of the assault Monday.

"He was already getting police protection. We have now provided him an additional gunman," Singh said.

Cases of assault, rioting, causing grievous injury and threatening have been registered, Singh said.

He said Ganesh had suffered a minor fracture in his right hand.

The assault on Ganesh came as a Survey of India team continued probing alleged illegal mining by the Obulapuram Mining Co (OMC), owned by the Reddy brothers, in the reserved forest areas of Bellary and adjoining Andhra Pradesh.

The team is conducting the survey on the Supreme Court's direction.

Ganesh, who was admitted to a hospital in Bellary, returned home late Monday on his own. He told reporters in Bellary Tuesday that he did not feel safe in the hospital, though an additional gunman had been provided for security.

Ganesh's two brothers were also hit when they tried to protect him.

Of the Reddy brothers, the younger Janardhana is tourism minister and the elder Karunakara holds the revenue portfolio in Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa's cabinet. The youngest Reddy, Somashekara, is a legislator.

Ganesh alleged that the Reddy bothers were behind the assault. He told reporters in the hospital that the Reddy brothers had masterminded the attack to prevent him from accompanying the survey team to show the areas where OMC is allegedly carrying out illegal mining.

Janardhana Reddy denied any involvement in the attack. He told reporters in Bangalore that "it is a drama enacted as part of the baseless allegations against us".

"The survey will bring out the truth. We have been fighting cases against us for six years. Why should we indulge in such acts now," he said.

Yeddyurappa told reporters in Bangalore that the assailants will be traced and punished.

The Reddy brothers joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1999 and became close to senior party leader Sushma Swaraj. At that time the Reddy brothers were minor businessmen. Their fortunes soared after 2002 when they entered iron ore mining business.

Though their home is now Bellary, their mining activity is mostly in Andhra Pradesh's Obulapuram adjoining Bellary.