The Andhra Pradesh police on Monday questioned former YSR Congress Party MLA from Rapthadu assembly constituency Thopudurthi Prakash Reddy in connection with a case related to the commotion at helipad at Papireddypalle village of Ramagiri mandal in Sri Satya Sai district last month.
Thopudurthi appeared before the police at C K Palli police station. Police investigations revealed that the former MLA ignored security guidelines issued for Jagan’s safety.
The police gathered evidence to prove that the former MLA had allegedly instigated the party workers at the helipad, which was seen as a deliberate attempt to portray a security lapse. Consequently, a case was registered against him.
The police arrested 10 workers of the YSRCP for the damage caused to the helicopter during Jagan’s visit. The arrested include a local public representative of the YSR Congress party.
The police identified 19 people involved in the incident, after scanning the CCTV footage. Police teams have been sent to Bengaluru, Vijayawada and Hyderabad to arrest the accused.
Jagan Mohan Reddy had reached Papireddypalli village by the helicopter on April 8 to console the family of a leader, allegedly murdered by the cadres of the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
The YSRCP workers broke through the barricades at the helipad to reach close to the helicopter, and in the commotion, the chopper’s windshield was reportedly damaged. The incident had forced Jagan Mohan Reddy to return to Bengaluru by road.
The YSRCP leaders had condemned the negligence of the state government in not ensuring adequate police presence at the helipad, though the former chief minister is a Z-plus category protectee.
The police took up an investigation into the allegations and, as part of this, summoned both pilot and co-pilot for questioning. They had appeared before the police on April 16. They were asked to explain how they flew back if the helicopter was risky for Jagan.
The helicopter belongs to a private company based in Karnataka. The police had doubts about the claim that the helicopter’s windshield was damaged.
