I was offered Rs 40-cr to grant bail to former BJP minster Janardhan Reddy: Ex-CBI judge

News Network

August 27, 2019

Bengaluru, Aug 27: B Naga Maruti Sarma, former CBI special judge has deposed before the ACB court in Hyderabad principal special judge in the infamous cash-for-bail case and revealed he was offered Rs 40 crore for setting mining baron and former BJP minister Gali Janardhan Reddy free on bail.

The alleged bribe offer was made by then AP High Court registrar (enquiries) K Lakshmi Narasimha Rao reportedly on behalf of Gali’s men in April 2012. The mining baron was then under judicial custody at the Chanchalguda jail after his arrest in Sept 2011 by CBI in the illegal mining case.

“I rejected the offer outright and walked out of the house of the registrar,” Sarma, deposing as a witness, said. He later dismissed Gali’s bail plea, which was pending before him.

The case has now reached the trial stage and the ACB special court (Hyderabad), which recorded Sarma’s evidence, posted it to September 13 for further hearing. Gali was present in court during Sarma’s testimony and on the next hearing the mining baron’s counsel is likely to cross-examine him.

Sarma, in his deposition, said he was posted as the special judge of CBI court in Hyderabad in April 2011. “In the third week of April 2012, HC registrar Narasimha Rao had called me over the phone and conveyed his intent to visit me,” Sarma said.

“As he was my senior and also holding a higher post (HC registrar), I told him that I would visit him instead and took his address. On the morning of April 18, 2012, I went to his house. After general discussion, Narasimha Rao revealed about the ‘proposal’ to release Gali on bail. I refused his proposal and informed him that deviating from the path of the law is death for me. It was at this stage that Narasimha Rao revealed that Gali’s men were prepared to shell out Rs 40 crore for the favour. I bluntly refused his proposal and left his house,” the former CBI judge said.

Subsequently, Pattabhi Rama Rao, Sarma’s successor at the CBI court, had granted bail to the mining baron but was later caught in a joint operation by CBI and ACB officials while allegedly accepting the bribe. He was arrested and sent to jail. In July 2012, the ACB officials arrested Lakshmi Narasimha Rao too.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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