CBI to probe YSR helicopter crash

Hyderabad, Sep 7 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will probe the helicopter crash that killed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and four others, as the central government accepted the state's recommendation in this regard Monday.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram had agreed to the state's request, state Home Minister P. Sabita Indra Reddy told reporters.

She said the state government has sent a formal letter to the central government recommending a CBI probe.

"Chief Minister K. Rosaiah also spoke to Chidambaram over phone in this regard and the union home minister agreed to the request," she said.

The move for a CBI probe comes amid reports not ruling out sabotage and conspiracy in the helicopter crash. Questions asking if the helicopter exploded in the air are also being raised.

There are also doubts whether the helicopter had an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT). There are also alleged lapses on part of state officials, technical personnel responsible for the maintenance of the chopper and the Air Traffic Control.

"There are several doubts in the minds of the eight crore people of this state about the crash. The government decided to go for a thorough inquiry and place all the facts before the people," Sabita Indra Reddy said.

The state government has also ordered a probe by a two-member expert committee comprising M.R. Reddy, retired Indian Police Service (IPS) official and expert on VIP security, and H.S. Kola, former director general, civil aviation, she said.

"The expert committee will probe the incident from all angles. It will go into the causes of the crash and also what happened after the incident."

The committee has been asked to submit a report in two days. The government will extend all possible help to the committee.

"If the committee requires officials for its job, we will provide them," the home minister said.

"The committee would cover all aspects including preceding circumstances during and after the helicopter crash," said a statement from the chief minister's office.

Rosaiah said that the government views the incident very seriously and is determined to bring out all details and facts.

The decision to recommend a CBI probe and form a two-member expert committee was taken in a meeting chaired by Rosaiah and attended by the home minister, Agriculture Minister Raghuveera Reddy and Director General of Police S.S.P. Yadav besides other top officials.

The state government has already ordered a probe by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the state police while the central government appointed a panel of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to conduct an inquiry.

"All these inquiries are to ensure a probe from all angles and to clear even a minor doubt. There are several doubts like he (YSR) should not have flown in bad weather, whether the helicopter had no-objection certificate and whether it was checked properly by the concerned officials," she said.

YSR, his special secretary, chief security officer and two pilots were killed Wednesday when a Bell 430 helicopter carrying them from Hyderabad to Chittoor district crashed in the dense Nallamalla forest in Kurnool district.

Their charred bodies and the chopper's wreckage were found the next day after one of the biggest search operations by the Indian Air Force.

Meanwhile, Chandrasekhara Reddy, an advocate, has filed a public interest litigation in the high court seeking a thorough probe into the crash. The petitioner said the helicopter crashed due to a bomb explosion.