VIJAYAWADA: Cops investigating the accident in which a Vijayawada corporator was left with severe burn injuries on Friday said that using petrol to set on fire Opposition leader Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s effigy was the reason behind the mishap. Experts echoed the cops’ view. Corporator J. Sambasiva Rao is undergoing treatment in a hospital in Vijayawada. TD chief N. Chandrababu Naidu had on Friday visited him in the hospital.
“Flammability of petrol is very high and it has the nature of evaporating in the air,” explained Kotra Vijay, assistant professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the Acharya Nagarjuna University. “The distance between the petrol and the victim (Mr Sambasiva Rao in this case) plays a crucial role in the spread of the fire,” Dr Vijay said. Meanwhile, as the corporator recovers from his burns, a war of words is on between TD activists and the police in Vijayawada. Both, TD cadres and police personnel, were injured in the accident and both blame each other. Meanwhile, city police commissioner G. Sawang ordered an inquiry into the incident.
