Obulapuram mining scam: Srilakshmi gets bail after 10 months

After 10 months in jail as an accused in the Obulapuram mining scam case, IAS officer Y Srilakshmi was granted interim bail by the special CBI court on Monday.

Sources said 46-year-old Srilakshmi, who has been unwell in recent months, was in meditation in her Chanchalguda prison cell when news of her impending release reached her. It brought a smile to her face and many fellow inmates congratulated her, a source in the prison administration said.

Principal special judge U V Durga Prasad Rao granted bail to Srilakshmi from Oct. 8 to Jan 20 and directed her to appear in court on Jan 21. The judge said interim bail was being given in consideration of Srilakshmi’s health condition. Since it was already evening by the time the order was delivered, Srilakshmi will be released Tuesday morning. She is likely to get herself admitted in hospital for surgery. The bail decree requires her to deposit her passport in court and not leave Hyderabad. She also has to furnish two bonds of Rs 15,000 each.

The IAS officer had last week filed a bail petition -- the latest of many she has filed during her incarceration -- stating that she has been suffering from back pain and doctors had advised surgery. In his presentation in court on Monday, Srilakshmi’s counsel V Surender Rao said his client was suffering from a cardiac ailment which has been diagnosed as prinzmetal angina characterised by pain in the left side of her chest. She also had high levels of blood cholesterol with spinal complications.

The CBI’s deputy legal adviser, B Ravindranath, said he was suspicious about the medical records furnished by Srilakshmi. “These documents are made for a particular purpose,’’ he said.

Judge Durga Prasad Rao asked whether by this he meant that the documents were doctored. Ravindranath replied,  “I am not saying they are manipulated but made for a purpose.’’

After hearing arguments from both counsels, the court issued a decree of bail. A mother of two, Srilakshmi was arrested on Nov. 28 last year for allegedly assisting mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy in landing plum mining contracts to at least 68 acres in Anthagangamma Konda in Anantapur district. She also allegedly drafted the fine print in such a way as to leave loopholes through with Janardhan Reddy’s company could transport mined iron ore out of Andhra Pradesh.