The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday requested the Centre to expedite the CBI probe into the helicopter crash in which former chief minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy was killed on September 2 last year.
Chief Minister K. Rosaiah spoke to Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and urged him to get the CBI investigation expedited as the delay in the process was leading to spread of various "conspiracy theories and causing unrest among people".
"We have asked the Centre to get the CBI inquiry completed speedily and the report submitted so as to clear various doubts arising in public mind," state Home Minister P. Sabita Reddy told reporters after a review meeting on law and order with Mr. Rosaiah on Friday.
The Andhra Pradesh police have filed a case against a Telugu news channel over a report alleging foul play by Ambani brothers Mukesh and Anil in the death of former chief minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.
The police have already begun a probe and are collecting evidence, including video tapes of the news footage beamed by TV5 that alleged that the Ambani brothers were behind the helicopter crash in which the former chief minister was killed on September 2, last year.
The report on Thursday night triggered an attack by Reddy’s supporters on business outlets of companies led by Mr. Mukesh and Mr. Anil, and the two groups separately accused each other of fuelling the allegations.
Mukesh-led Reliance Industries on Friday denied the allegations and called them “malicious” and “motivated” and said that it was the “dirty handiwork of our business rivals with TV5.”
The Anil Ambani-led Reliance group said: “A malicious and criminal misinformation campaign has been engaged into by our corporate rivals leading to substantial loss and damage to our several offices and businesses of Reliance ADA Group in Andhra Pradesh yesterday evening.
“We are shocked to see our corporate rivals stooping down to new levels of desperation by engaging in such imaginative and baseless rumour-mongering.”
According to a senior police official, a case has been registered suo-moto against the Telugu news channel TV5.