The CBI has now turned its attention on the close associates of former Karnataka Minister G Janardhana Reddy. On Monday they raided homes of three key alleged front men of Reddy who have been reportedly absconding since his arrest for illegal mining on September 5.

The three were K.V. Nagaraj alias Swastik Nagaraj, Mahesh alias Karapudi Mahesh, both from Hospet town and Manjunath alias STD Manju in Sandur. The three men, who have been named by the Lokayukta in connection with the iron ore that went missing from the Belekeri port, are allegedly either in Sri Lanka or the Far East on tourist visas. It is believed they ran a wide network of illegal extraction and transportation of iron ore for a price.

Sources said, sleuths on Monday have seized vital papers from the residences of the absconding trio, but did not find cash or huge wealth as they did in the Reddys’ homes. The seized documents show an elaborate network of places and companies that carried out illegal trade in iron ore including transportation and stocking of, export of illegally mined ore and payments of risk amounts.

By extending its investigation to them, the CBI has clearly indicated that it does not intend to confine its probe to the controversial Obulapuram Mining Company of the Reddy brothers in Andhra Pradesh, but will probe all its mining transactions wherever they happen to have taken place.

The CBI has already conducted raids on the residences and rice mills of S. Gurulinganagowda, Chairman of the Bellary Urban Development Authority, Bhaskar Reddy and Anand Choudhary of Kurugod, all close confidantes of Reddys.