CBI begins probe into YSR death

The Andhra Pradesh government had requested the Centre to conduct a CBI a probe into the incident. Deputy Inspector General V V Lakshmi Narayana led the 10-member team, including Central and state forensic experts, which at first visited the crash site in the dense Nallamala forests in Kurnool district.

Narayana, accompanied by Nageswara Rao, Superintendent of Police of CBI in Visakhapatnam and K P C Gandhi, forensic expert and former director of AP Forensic Science Laboratory, meticulously inspected the crash site at Pavuralagutta hills.

“The officials of state CID, who probed the incident till Friday, handed over the case papers and briefed us about their investigation,” Lakshmi Narayana said.

“This is for the first time we are visiting the crash site and we will further investigate after meeting the officials concerned,” he said.

The team members closely observed the copter parts and inspected the area around the wreckage, the DIG said adding that if necessary the team would again visit the site.
The CBI’s multi-disciplinary investigation team (MDIT) comprising officers from the Indian Air Force, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will also scrutinise the log details of the Air Traffic Control in Hyderabad and Chennai.

Meanwhile, Kurnool district superintendent of Police Ch Srikant said the wreckage of the ill-fated helicopter would be cleared after getting permission from the DGCA.

Besides the CBI, two parallel investigations by a two-member expert committee constituted by the state government, comprising retired IPS officer and VIP Security expert M R Reddy and former DGCA H S Khola, and the DGCA are also under way.
The DGCA and the two-member expert committee have been asked to submit their reports in 60-days.

PTI