G Janardhana Reddy, the former Karnataka minister who had been 'missing' since last three days, appeared before the police on Saturday for investigation into an alleged ponzi scam. Reddy rebuked allegations against him as 'political conspiracy'.
Hours after releasing a video in which Reddy said he would appear before police to face the probe, the mining baron came in a car to the Central Crime Branch office in Bengaluru, along with his advocates. Reddy said he has faith in the police.
In his video message, Reddy said he was not absconding and was very much in the city, while asserting that there was no need for him to flee.
"I have not committed anything wrong. The police do not have a single document to prove that I am wrong. They are misleading the media," he claimed in his message telecast by TV channels.
Reddy, who was a minister in the erstwhile Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka, said he never panicked as neither his name figured in the first information report (FIR) nor was any notice served on him.
"Now that the notice has been issued by the police, I have decided to appear before the Central Crime Branch today itself though the notice says I should appear on Sunday," Reddy said.
"I decided to make this video to let people know the truth. I have faith in the police and believe that they would not succumb to any political pressure," he added.
What is the case
The police had launched a hunt for him since Wednesday in connection with a money transaction worth crores of rupees, allegedly linked to a ponzi scheme.
The CCB was also on the lookout for Reddy's close aide, Ali Khan, who had allegedly struck a Rs 20-crore deal with Syed Ahmed Fareed of Ambidant Marketing Pvt Ltd. - a company accused of involvement in the ponzi scheme - to bail him out from the Enforcement Directorate investigation.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar had said on Wednesday that Reddy was absconding and the police were looking for him to question him in the case.
(With inputs from PTI)