VIJAYAWADA: Police arrested two persons in connection with the alleged sabotage behind the crashing of boats into Prakasam Barrage on Monday. The duo were produced before the court and were remanded for 14-day custody.
As per the preliminary reports, the arrested persons, Kukkalagadda Ushadri and Komati Rammohan are said to be associates of YSRC MLC and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s programme coordinator Talasila Raghuram.
The duo who hail from Gollapudi and Surayapalem were behind the sabotage where five boats hit the counterweight of gates 67, 69 and 70.
Based on a complaint from Irrigation Department officials alleging sabotage behind the damage caused to Prakasam Barrage gate 69’s counterweight, One Town police registered a case under sections 125 and 326B of Bharata Nyaya Sanhita on Saturday.
During the investigation, police noticed that two accused Ushadri and Komati Rammohan owned the boats that drifted and crashed the Prakasam Barrage gates. Three machine boats were registered in the name of Ushadri and the remaining two belong to Rammohan.
“The duo displayed negligence which has caused damage to the gate. A probe is on to find whether there is any conspiracy behind the negligence. Call data records of the accused are being examined,” said I Town Inspector Guru Prakash.
From the day of incident, the ruling TDP leaders including the Chief Minister himself expressed his doubt on the role of YSRC leaders as the boats were painted in blue, white and green colours of YSRC flag and no person claimed the ownership so far.
YSRC activists behind sabotage: Ramanaidu
Meanwhile, Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu told media, “Investigation is on to find out the reason for those three boats belonging to the same person loosely tied with nylon rope instead of being anchored at the river banks as per general practice and each boat weighs 40 to 50 tonnes each.”
The Minister said that all guilty will be brought to book as per law.
The 170-year-old Prakasam Barrage has been serving the erstwhile districts of Krishna, Guntur, West Godavari, and Prakasam, providing irrigation water to 13.8 lakh acres and drinking water to several lakhs of people.
“On Sunday, when flow in Krishna River was at its peak, five boats washed over and hit Prakasam Barrage. One was washed downstream through vents and one is suspected to be in the water downstream and three others, which were linked together hit the barrage, damaging the counterweight. If not for counterweight, the barrage would have suffered severe damage, resulting in unimaginable losses,” he said and added that the investigation is going on at a brisk pace. Farmers and farmers’ associations say that this whole incident raises many suspicions, he mentioned.
Owner of the three identified boats was Ushadri, a follower of Komati Rammohan, who is a relative of YSRC MLC Talashila Raghuram, only makes one suspect if the entire incident was intentional.
He recalled that former MP Nandigam Suresh formed a syndicate with the support of the previous government and looted the sand illegally through dredging with such type of boats. The boats also have YSRC party colours and were in fact brought this side of the river from the opposite banks just a few days before the incident, he said.
“It has been the nature of YSRC to stoop to any level for political gains, as can be seen from the murder of YS Vivekananda Reddy and the burning of the crops in the capital region,” the Minister alleged. On the repairs of the counterweight of the Prakasam Barrage gate 69, he said under the directions of Kannayya Naidu works are going at a brisk pace and they will be completed by Tuesday.
In response to the allegations of the Minister, YSRC spokesperson Pothina Venkata Mahesh alleged that TDP is spreading a false narrative to divert attention from their own failures in managing the flood situation. He explained that the boats in question actually belonged to a private owner, Ushadri, who had no connection to the YSRC. Police, however, arrested Komati Rammohan and Ushadri and were pressuring them to falsely claim they were YSRC supporters.
He further warned that filing false cases and conducting illegal investigations against innocent individuals would not be tolerated, and legal action would be taken against the responsible officials.