Andhra suspends two RTA officials for ‘snatching’ car for CM’s convoy

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday suspended two employees of Road Transport Authority (RTA) for an incident in which a family was left stranded on road after the car in which they were travelling was taken away for the chief minister’s convoy.

Within hours after Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed anguish over the incident and ordered action, RTA Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector (AMVI) A. Sandhya and home guard P. Tirupati Reddy were suspended.

RTA officials issued orders for their suspension after the chief minister ordered action against erring officials who forcibly took away the cab along with the driver.

Jagan Mohan Reddy ordered departmental action against the erring officials who asked a cab driver to report to Ongole immediately since the vehicle was assigned to CM’s convoy while he was taking a family to Tirumala.

“This kind of measure will not be tolerated especially when people are in trouble,” the chief minister said.

Vemula Srinivas of Vinukonda in Palnadu district and his family members, including two women and two children, were left stranded on the road in Ongole town after officials took away the car in which they were travelling along with the driver saying they needed it for the convoy of the chief minister.

The shocking incident occurred on Wednesday night when the family travelling in the cab to Tirupati had stopped for dinner at a hotel in Ongole. An RTA official told them that they need the vehicle for the convoy of the chief minister who is scheduled to visit Ongole on April 22.

When the family said they were going to Tirupati for pilgrimage, the official reportedly told them that he couldn’t help except saying sorry and took away the Innova vehicle along with the driver.

The family had to spend the night at the RTC bus stand at Ongole and the incident triggered public outrage.