Date:26/12/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/12/26/stories/2003122603890600.htm

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Alipiri attack on CM: probe team releases photos of accused

By Our Special Correspondent

TIRUPATI Dec. 25. D.T. Naik, heading the Special Investigating Team (SIT) probing the People's War claymore mine attack on the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu's convoy, today released to mediapersons photographs of members of the PW Central Committee and State Committee, besides the eight-member Action Team which actually carried out the operation.

"Since it targeted the chief executive of the State, we are taking it as a challenge to the entire police force and are trying to zero in on the conspirators,'' he said.

At a press conference, Mr. Naik not only gave a lap-top presentation on the sequence of events — both real time and computer animation — but also utilised the occasion to give a blow-by-blow account of the ground so far covered by the SIT.

The decision to eliminate the Chief Minister was taken by the PW's Central and State Military Committees, and as is the custom in the outlawed organisation, a nine-member Action Team (AT) led by Takkallapalli Vasudeva Rao alias Ashanna was entrusted with the operation. The other members of the AT as named by the SIT chief are: Dubash Shankar (Medak), Sriramula Srinivas (Nalgonda), Chakali Niranjan (Mahaboobnagar), Mogili (Adilabad), Sarayya (Warrangal), Ramamohan Reddy (Chittoor), Patel Sudhakar Reddy alias Suryam and his wife Kakarala Madhavi. The AT members stayed in Tirupati since July 2000, shifting from house to house at regular intervals to avoid detection. It also sent one of its members to the TDP's Mahanadu held at Tirupati in the guise of a party worker to get a feel of the situation when the Chief Minister is around in the temple town.

The team was then said to have secured about 150 kg of high-grade explosives from Wardha near Nagpur through its lone Hyderabad-based authorised dealer for Andhra Pradesh, Jayaram Reddy. Tracing the "supply chain,'' Mr. Naik said that the powder gel— nitroglycerine component — was supplied in turn to Jaganmohan Reddy of Chittoor, through him to Chandra Reddy of Cuddapah and later to Ramaswamy Reddy also of the same place and finally to a dalam member, Mala Chandra alias Kesav of Tsundupalle, Cuddapah district. The Cuddapah-based accused, Mr. Naik said, were either smugglers or forest contractors. The SIT is also said to have picked up a suspect who manufactured the steel boxes used for the fabrication of the 17 claymore mines and also identified a sports store in Tirupati from which they purchased the dumb bells, which were cut and stuffed into the mines so that they could serve as projectiles when triggered.

The SIT was in possession of a number of incriminating documents, floppies containing information about the operation, conspiratorial aspects and so on. It was also in possession of a vital document — a letter purported to have been written by the PW's State Committee secretary, Haragopal, to his "boss'' regretting the failure of the operation. The statement, read out at the press meet, quoted Haragopal as saying that though more than 100 kg of explosives was used, the use of the bullet-proof car by Mr. Naidu and the inadequate power from the remote-control device used to trigger the explosion perhaps made the Chief Minister escape. Quoting another document, Mr. Naik said that in all about Rs. 11.98 lakhs was used by the Action Team for the execution of the operation.

The SIT had so far arrested Ramaswamy Reddy, Nagarjuna of Pincha village, Tsundupalle mandal and Gangi Reddy of Pullampet in Cuddapah district.