This Week Andhra Pradesh: Before possible arrest,bets on if and what after

Y S Jaganmohan Reddy faces possible arrest in the illegal assets case with the CBI court having summoned him

Before possible arrest,bets on if and what after

Y S Jaganmohan Reddy faces possible arrest in the illegal assets case with the CBI court having summoned him,but he has been so defiant that it has led to heavy betting among his followers over whether he will be arrested at all,and,if he is,how that would reflect in the June 12 byelections whether his party will win 16 seats or sweep all 18. The betting is heavy in Jaganmohans strongholds like Guntur,Kadapa and Kurnool. When he had contested from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency,the bets over his winning margin had involved crores of rupees. There were reports that Jaganmohans fans won or lost acres and acres of land. When by-elections were held in Kovvur constituency in March,there was again heavy betting on Jaganmohans candidates victory margin.

Naxals to fight,post to fill

Maoists have shown signs of trying to stage a comeback into Andhra Pradesh. Last week,they crossed over from Chhattisgarh and held a peoples court in a village in Khammam district and even fired at and injured the sarpanch. The government is appealing to the Centre for funds to fortify its borders but has not filled the vacant post of deputy inspector general at the head of the anti-Maoist Special Intelligence Branch. Last month,the government transferred the SIB chief to the Anti-Corruption Bureau,while ACB director Bhoopathi Babus alleged favourite,Srinivasa Reddy,was transferred apparently without consulting him. Reddy was heading the team that was investigating the multi-crore liquor scam. The state government is yet to find a suitable replacement for the SIB chief.

Trial run or joyride?

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Did the pilot of the helicopter used by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar use it to give a joyride to a couple of friends? The CM has ordered an inquiry after allegations that when Captain Barun Gupta took the Agusta AW 139 on a supposed trial run,he was actually taking two friends on a joyride over Hyderabad. The AP Aviation Corporation,which handles maintenance,has denied it but said it,too,would investigate the March 19 incident. Captain Gupta allegedly told the corporation he needed the trail run ahead of flying DGP V Dinesh Reddy on an aerial survey. Corporation officials found nothing wrong in his request since he frequently does trails runs but,in this case,Captain Gupta allegedly failed to note in the logbook the names of two guests who were flying with him.

Relative safety of modes of travel

On Hyderabads roads,one appears to be at least risk when one is in a four-wheeler. The pedestrian,walking on the pavement or waiting for a city bus,is the first victim of unruly traffic and rash and negligent driving. Statistics released by Hyderabad and Cyberabad police commissionerates show that 50 to 60 per cent of deaths on roads involve pedestrians knocked down by speeding four-wheelers and some cases even two-wheelers. From January to April this year,563 people were killed in road accidents in Hyderabad and Cyberabad area. Of the 161 accident deaths in Hyderabad,66 were pedestrians and 49 were two-wheeler riders.