After Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple treasure in Kerala, it is mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy's allegedly hidden treasure that is making news nowadays. Rumours are going around round the clock with people in Bellary and Andhra Pradesh talking about all probable places where former Karnataka minister G Janardhana Reddy, now in CBI custody at Hyderabad, could have hidden his wealth. Apart from being kept in his and his aides’ houses, it is said to be buried in isolated places too.

The police have been combing all possible places like paddy fields, old houses in some villages of Raichur and Bellary, in farmhouses and wells to recover the hidden treasure of the mining baron. Meanwhile, it wasn’t just the police hunting for the treasure. The Bellary rural police have arrested four persons—Santha Thomas Samuel, 39, a resident of Sindanur taluk in Raichur district; Swamy Rao, 48, a resident of Giddalur in Kadapa; Subba Reddy, 39, from Giddalur and Vasu, 30, from Krishna Nagar - who confessed to have come to the village in search of Reddy's treasure.

Another treasure hunter, Chinna alias Sharana Channa, is absconding. Swamy Rao and Subba Reddy had contacted Santha Thomas Samuel and enquired about the hidden wealth in some of the villages. Soon, they hatched a plan to 'go for it' on the auspicious Vijayadashami day. The duo came to Krishna Nagar on October 6. They took the help of Vasu and Chinna to find the treasure, police said. They purchased gold mangalya, some idols, vibhuthi, kumkum, turmeric powder, sari, and coconut and performed puja before digging up. While they were at it, a few villagers saw them and found their behaviour suspicious. They caught four of them and informed the police.

Upon interrogation, they reportedly told to police that on hearing about Reddy's hidden treasure they came in search for it. Swamy Rao told police that some people known to Reddy in Kadapa and other places in Andhra Pradesh spoke about the hidden treasure, police said. It was this that led the police to suspect that Reddy might have hidden his property, and that is why CBI raids on his or his aides' houses do not yield much.

However, Superintendent of police, Chandragupta said, "The villagers found these thieves doing puja and searching for treasure in torch-light. After they confessed about the hidden treasure, our policemen searched the surrounding area, but they did not find anything." The arrested were produced in the court and sent to judicial custody.