Ardent MSD Fan was Looking Forward to Summer Holidays

A six-year-old boy, an ardent fan of MS Dhoni, died after being hit by a tennis ball while playing cricket at the Sahara Estates in Vanasthalipuram on Thursday — days after former Bengal Under-19 cricketer Ankit Keshri breathed his last following an on-field collision while fielding in a match in Kolkata. T Vamsi Krishna
The little one, identified as T Vamsi Krishna, a UKG student of the Nagarjuna Montessori Private School, had returned home from school in the evening and ran out to the play ground to enjoy a game of cricket with friends. Vamsi was fielding and was about 10 metres from the batsman, Vijay, when the latter hit the ball straight to him. “Vamsi went forward to catch the ball but failed and the ball landed on his chest. Vamsi began crying in pain and collapsed. His friends rubbed his chest to reduce the pain. As Vamsi lost consciousness, they informed his parents, Govinda Raju and Anitha,” said Vanasthalipuram sub-inspector Devender. Vamsi’s parents rushed to him and initially, tried to provide first-aid. As he didn’t regain consciousness, they shifted him to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. “The doctors said even though it was a tennis ball, the impact of the shot was more than the boy could bear. Vamsi was standing close to the batsman,” the police official said. Govinda Raju lodged a police complaint, raising doubts over his son’s death. The police booked a case under Section 174 of the Crpc (suspicious death). The body was handed over to Govinda Raju after post-mortem. The police visited the play ground and questioned the locals. Preliminary investigation pointed at accidental death. Vamsi Krishna, according to his father Govinda Raju, came home from school on Thursday in a very happy mood. His school had declared summer holidays from Friday and he was itching to play cricket and dreaming of spending happy days at his grandmother’s place in Ongole.  Vamsi Krishna, the six-year-old who died after a tennis ball struck him on the chest during a game of cricket, was an ardent Dhoni fan. He would sit glued to the TV whenever there was an India match and particularly when his idol was at the crease. In fact, he idolised the India captain so much that he had the cricketer’s posters pasted all over his home. Like any doting father, Govinda Raju, a mason from Ongole, had encouraged his eldest son by gifting him a cricket kit.  “Vamsi was happy after he came home from school yesterday. He told his mother Anitha that his school had declared summer holidays from Friday. He had his own holiday plans. He wanted to play cricket with friends and spend his holidays at his grandmother’s place in Ongole,” Govinda Raju recalled. Govinda Raju wanted to send his children and wife to his parents for the summer vacation. “Before leaving for the play ground, Vamsi told us he would return home soon. Instead, he died playing the game,’’ Govinda Raju said. Vamsi loved playing cricket with his friends, all aged between 6-10. On Thursday, his neighbour, 14-year-old Vijay, too joined them. Vamsi had failed to catch the ball after Vijay hit it straight at him. That proved fatal. Even though preliminary probe by the police indicated accidental death, Vamsi’s parents aren’t convinced. “How can a tennis ball, which weighs so less, lead to someone’s death ?’’ Govinda Raju questioned and sought a thorough probe.

Mouli Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com

New Red Threat to Naidu

Sensing increased threat to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in the wake of the Seshachalam encounter, his intelligence and security wing officials on Sunday swapped his convoy vehicles. As per the new “security adjustment”, the fleet of luxurious SUVs - Naidu’s convoy vehicles in Hyderabad - have now been sent to Vijayawada. Old Tata Safari vehicles, stationed in Vijayawada for use during Naidu’s visits to Coastal Andhra, have been brought back to Hyderabad. Asked about this sudden swapping of cars? The security wing officials told Express that old safari cars might be ‘vulnerable’ to attacks during Naidu’s travels in Coastal Andhra. “Hence, we have decided to use the new Fortuner cars in Vijayawada and the safari cars in Hyderabad, which is a high-security zone,” they explained, adding that the decision was taken to prevent any untoward incident during the Chief Minister’s district tours. “Naidu has ‘Z’ category security but following the encounter in Chittoor district, we received inputs of a possible threat to him while touring the districts. Based on these inputs, we have swapped the cars in his convoy,” said a source. Till now, Pardo and Fortuner vehicles had been utilised for Naidu’s convoy in Hyderabad. These vehicles were purchased in January at an estimated Rs 5.7 crore. In fact, in the wake of the recent encounters in AP and Telangana, the intelligence and security wing officials in both the States reviewed security measures for the Chief Ministers of the two States. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s convoy was strengthened with the induction of a new bullet- proof ‘fire-fighting’ vehicle which can thwart any attack from gunmen.

Mouli Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com

SIMI Ultras Played Cops to Stay Off Grid

It appears the two terrorists of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Aslam and Aizazuddin, had posed as tourists and even cops at times while trying to stay off the grid — before they were shot dead on Saturday — in Nalgonda district. Sources associated with the investigation told Express the duo had identified themselves as Raju and Rahul and stayed in a dargah at Aravapalli and other places soon after they killed a constable and a home guard at the Suryapet bus-station early Thursday. “When some locals doubted their antecedents as they moved with a carbine, which they had snatched away from policemen at Suryapet, they claimed to be part of a special police party,” sources said. These new facts came to light after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) joined the probe and questioned locals at Aravapalli and adjoining villages. An NIA team on Sunday visited the region to gather details as the agency suspects some other SIMI activists could still be hiding in the district. The team also quizzed the Moulana of the Aravapalli dargah. The Telangana government, which had initially claimed the duo could be UP gangsters, meanwhile, ‘confirmed’ they were indeed SIMI activists and part of a gang of five who had escaped from Khandwa Jail in Madhya Pradesh on Oct 1, 2013. The five — Aizazuddin, Aslam, Amjad Khan, Zakir Hussain Sadiq and Mehboob Guddu — facing trial for the murder of a cop had scaled the 14ft high prison wall and escaped. The Telangana government’s ‘confirmation’ came after a police team from MP identified the bodies as that of Aslam and Aizazuddin.

Fact-sheet:  Of the two slain terrorists, Aizazuddin was from Kareli, Narsinghpur district in Madhya Pradesh. He came into contact with SIMI in Jabalpur. He did not figure in any police records before his arrest in June 2011. Aslam had worked as a mason till his arrest in June 2011 along with eight other SIMI men.  The Union Home Ministry had termed the escape of the SIMI activists from Khandwa jail as a major security challenge. It suspects they had carried out bomb blasts in different parts of the country.

Mouli Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com

CBI Begins Probe into IPS Trainee’s Drowning at NPA

Was the death of 30-year IPS officer trainee (OT) of National Police Academy,  Manu Mukt Manav, who drowned in the swimming pool of the academy, accidental? Who was the IAS OT who was allegedly with Manav at the pool till late night and left the NPA for Mussoorie the next day after Manav’s death? The Delhi unit of CBI has initiated a probe to crack the mystery behind Manav’s death after registering a case under Section 174 of CrPC (suspicious death). Manav’s father Dr Ram Niwas Manav, mother Kanta Bhardwaj and sister Anukriti called on CBI officials at the agency’s headquarters a few days ago and submitted at least 70 documents that were collected by them through RTI applications from NPA and Cyberabad police in connection with the  death. Sources in the CBI have confirmed to Express that the Delhi unit has registered a case of suspicious death of trainee IPS officer Manu Mukt Manav and launched investigation. The CBI officials have summoned Manav’s parents and collected details in connection with the case. “Regulations regarding the closing time of the swimming pool were not strictly enforced by the NPA. In letter number 19011/3/2009; Estt dated November 25, 2014 the NPA stated that the swimming pool timings on holidays are 4 pm to 8.30 pm in the evening. In the same letter, it also  stated that between 11.40 pm and 11.50 pm, 10 OTs were present at various positions in the Officers Club and the Swimming Pool,” Manav’s father Ramniwas, who accessed the records of NPA through RTI, told Express. The same copies were submitted to the Union home minister earlier too. “Moreover, even earlier during the party several OTs had entered the pool in an unauthorised manner. This clearly showed that the OTs were allowed to access the pool at unauthorised times and the NPA failed to stop them from doing so. Despite the unauthorised use of the swimming pool by OTs several hours before the incident, no strict action was taken by the NPA to curb indiscipline by other OTs. Had the NPA officials barred the OTs from entering the pool area, our son would have been alive today,” Ramniwas said. On August 28, 2014, young trainee IPS officer Manu Mukt Manav drowned in a swimming pool under suspicious circumstances at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad. Manu Mukt hailed from Tigra village in Hisar district of Haryana. He secured 180th rank in the UPSC examination in 2012-13. On September 2, Manav’s mother Kanta Bhardwaj wrote to prime minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh, seeking a CBI probe to find facts about her son’s death.

Mouli Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com

Non-T Police Inspectors being Shifted Ahead of GHMC Polls

Ahead of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls, Telangana government appears to have decided to transfer some non-Telangana police inspectors or station house officers (SHOs), working in Hyderabad range, including Hyderabad and Cyberabad police commissionerates, to other wings from law and order. According to sources, higher officials of the police department, recently asked all non-Telangana inspectors to get ready for moving to other wings. For instance, AV Satyanarayana, who was working as Jeedimetla police inspector, was transferred and attached to Hyderabad Commissionerate. Babji, Shamirpet inspector, was transferred to Cyberabad Commissionerate. Both Satyanarayana and Babji do not belong to Telangana. Some inspectors, who were transferred recently, expressed before superiors their displeasure over the way they were shifted, and said that they were deliberately transferred to other wings against transfer rules and regulations. For instance, a non-Telangana inspector who got marred to a woman of Telangana, was also asked to get ready for transfer to another wing. The inspector, however, managed to retain his post in Cyberabad with recommendation from a city MLA. Some inspectors are also getting ready to take the issue to the notice of Governor ESL Narasimhan and Union home ministry by submitting a representation very soon. Some of the transferred inspectors have already contacted Raj Bhavan officers for an appointment with the Governor. Meanwhile, all the superintendents of police (SPs) and police commissioners in Hyderabad and Cyberabad are understood to have received oral orders a few days ago to list the names of non-Telangana inspectors, who should be transferred to other wings from law and order. When Express contacted a senior police officer, he replied that these were routine transfers and nothing new in the ongoing shuffling. Total 43 inspectors are working in law and order in Cyberabad and at least 100 Inspectors are working in Hyderabad Commissionerate. Of them, a few are natives of other states.

Mouli Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com