Sabotage theory to the fore in YSR death

While the faction consisting of YSR supporters and those backing his son Jaganmohan Reddy’s candidacy to the top post are said to be behind the latest claims, another faction within the party has fiercely rebutted them.

Supporters of the “sabotage” theory blame a leading corporate company for having removed YSR, to get their way around a high-stake business venture in the state.
The seriousness of the claims has provoked both Chief Minister K Rosaiah and Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy to respond. Rosaiah said that agencies investigating the September 2 crash was also looking at the sabotage angle.

“We all thought the crash was an accident immediately after it had happened,” Rosaiah told the media. “But since some have raised doubts over the incident, it is important to bring out the facts. So the CBI and the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are probing the ‘sabotage’ angle.”

Stating that the Crime Investigation Department and the two-member committee formed by the state government are also probing the incident, Sabita Indra Reddy said that investigations will make it clear if the crash had been a sabotage or an accident. “Action will be taken only after the agencies submit their reports,” she said.

The controversy was triggered by reports in Sakshi newspaper and Sakshi news channel—the media outlets owned by Jaganmohan Reddy—which described the crash as a sabotage and not an accident.

Senior Congress leader Ambati Rambabu urged the government to investigate the reasons for letting the chief minister take the 14-year-old Bell 430 helicopter, while a new AW 139 chopper was available.

Former home minister K Jana Reddy supported the call for a probe.