After the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), along with Enforcement Directorate (ED), has joined the probe against mining baron Sekhar Reddy following the Income Tax (IT) department seizure of over Rs 130 crore worth cash and 127 kg of gold from him, the case started gaining national prominence. It may be recalled this will be the biggest catch in post-demonetiztion period.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh government has removed him as Trustee Board member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devathanams (TTD). IT sources, who initiated the probe, indicating it was now suspected that the bank officials had colluded with the businessman and exchanged old currencies for him.

It was strongly speculated he was close to both former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and also AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. He was also said to be an active functionary of AIADMK in Chennai and used to have free access into Jayalalithaa’s residence Veda Nilayam.

Initially two days ago, about Rs 10 crore of the seized cash from premises belonging to Reddy across the state was in form of the newly released currencies. But during another raid yesterday, the IT sleuths seized Rs 24 crore from a vehicle belonging to Reddy in Vellore, a northern district of Tamil Nadu. The entire amount was in the form of the newly released Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 currencies,.

Though Sekhar Reddy was a normal sand supplier till few years ago, by changing parties he believed to be climbed up the ladder and grew stinking rich within just five years. He is reportedly holding Rs 1,000 crore worth contract works from Tamil Nadu government.

Surprisingly, there were no bank slips on the new currency notes. Sekhar Reddy’s business partners Prem Reddy, Srinivas Reddy and Kiran Reddy have also been raided and amounts were recovered from their Chennai and Veluru residences.