Title - High-flying rail officer grounded

K.V. Brahmananda Reddy, the Indian Railway Accounts Service official who was arrested on Tuesday, was a “yes man” of Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy. He served as special secretary in the infrastructure department which controversial deals such as Vanpic were struck. He was the MD, AP Aviation Corporation, which owned the Bell copter that crashed in the Nallamala forests, killing YSR on September 2, 2009. He was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation regarding the incident, the main query being why he did not arrange for the safer Augusta Westland helicopter for YSR.The CBI rapped him for negligence. However, no criminal proceedings were launched. Mr Brahmananda Reddy was suspended by then chief minister K. Rosaiah for the delay in arranging a helicopter for his visit to flood-hit areas in Kurnool and Mahbubnagar. The Central Administrative Tribunal rescinded the suspension in October 2009, following his appeal. In October 2011, the chief secretary wrote to the Railway Board for action against Mr Reddy and other officials. At the moment Mr Brahmananda Reddy is posted with the South Eastern Railway in Kolkata. He was picked up from his house at Habshiguda in Hyderabad late on Tuesday night.