Day of security paranoia starts with a kiss

HYDERABAD: Like she used to send him off to school, Y S Vijayamma planted a kiss on Jagan Mohan Reddy’s forehead and added a blessing before he set out from his Lotus Pond residence for his grilling by the CBI Friday. With a wave to his close friends, the Kadapa MP squeezed into his Scorpio and guards scurried to get a foothold on the vehicle.His confidante V Vijay Sai Reddy, a veteran of several interrogations, was at hand to give him tips for the exam.As the vehicle rolled out of the mansion, supporters, waiting outside, tried to mob it, and the lone car soon became a convoy. At MLA Quarters, deputy commissioner of police Akun Sabharwal’s men detained some of the vehicles. Escorted by the Task Force police, the remnant wound along from Road No: 12 to the Khairtabad junction where rapid action forces stopped the tail vehicles and let in only two, one Jagan’s and the other belonging to Sabbam Hari, the Congress MP and Jagan camper.With arterial Raj Bhavan Road blocked, Section 144 all around Dilkusha guest house and heavy bandobust on all approach roads, Hyderabadis were left cursing the security paranoia. ‘’It appears as if a US President is visiting Raj Bhavan Road. It’s sheer stupidity for the mere questioning of an MP,” fumed Amarnath Chowdary, a businessman.From 8.30 am to 7 pm, the police threw three layers of security around the venue. The entire stretch of Raj Bhavan Road assumed a curfew-like atmoshphere with only policemen trampling about. Even police officers who just happened to be passing by faced the heat. Even V B Kamalasan Reddy, superintendent of police (intelligence) and assistant deputy commissioner of police R Ravinder Reddy were stopped. The latter was bailed out by DCP Srikanth, posted at Raj Bhavan, while Kamalasan got down from his car door and introduced himself as SP Intelligence and was then allowed through.