The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday arrested Y S Bhaskar Reddy, uncle of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, in connection with the alleged murder of his another uncle and former member of Parliament (MP) Y S Vivekananda Reddy. Bhaskar Reddy’s son and Kadappa MP, Y S Avinash Reddy is said to be the main accused in the case.
Vivekananda Reddy, a former member of the Lok Sabha and the state assembly, was found dead at his residence on the intervening night of March14-15, 2019. The CBI in an affidavit submitted in the Telangana high court hinted at the involvement of Bhaskar Reddy in the murder saying that he knew what his son had done for gaining political power.
On Friday, the CBI arrested Avinash Reddy’s close associate Gajjala Uday Kumar Reddy alias Uday, who the agency suspects to have played a key role in destruction of vital evidence in the murder, three months after the Supreme Court asked the Telangana high court to reconsider the default bail granted to him.
An official privy to the development said that the CBI sleuths picked up Uday from the residence of his father at Pulivendula and took him to Hyderabad, where he was arrested. The CBI officer said Bhaskar Reddy was arrested on the basis of Uday’s statement that he knew about the killing.
In its 38-page affidavit filed before the Telangana high court on February 22, a copy of which was reviewed by HT, the CBI mentioned the name of Uday quite a few times saying he, in association with Avinash Reddy, played a role in erasing the evidence in Vivekananda Reddy’s murder.
The affidavit says the investigating agency had made use of the “Google takeout” technology to track the movement of the suspects including Avinash Reddy and Uday on the day of the murder.
It said the forensic analysis of Google takeout carried out by the Central Forensic Laboratory (CFSL), New Delhi, had revealed that Uday was present at the house of Avinash Reddy at 6.25am on the day of murder. “The location of his mobile phone revealed that he was present inside the house of Vivekananda Reddy between 6.29am and 6.31am,” the affidavit said.
The CBI said that Avinash Reddy, along with his aides Devineni Siva Shankar Reddy, Uday Kumar Reddy and others, after finding Vivekananda Reddy in a pool of blood in the bathroom, tried to float the theory that the former MP had died of a heart attack and heavy blood vomiting.
“Later, they got the entire premises cleaned. Cotton and bandages were arranged and applied to hide the grievous injuries on the body of Vivekananda Reddy, which was later shifted to the government hospital, Pulivendula in an ambulance,” the affidavit said.
The CBI questioned Uday a few times in the past on the suspicion of destruction of evidence at the scene of crime. “However, on January 27, 2022, he lodged a complaint with the Kadapa police against the investigating officer of the CBI saying that the latter was harassing him. The CBI challenged this complaint in the Andhra Pradesh high court, which stayed the case against the investigating officer,” the affidavit said.
The CBI suspected that Avinash Reddy, with the help of Bhaskar Reddy had conspired to eliminate Vivekananda Reddy who they felt was a hurdle in his political growth.
Avinash Reddy, who was questioned by the CBI four times in the last two months, moved the Telangana high court challenging the CBI’s affidavit and seeking an anticipatory bail.
He said the CBI was trying to falsely implicate him in the case based on a confessional statement of Sheik Dastagiri, who had earlier worked as a driver of Vivekananda Reddy and was one of the four who allegedly executed the murder. Dastargiri turned an approver in the case in 2021.
Appearing for Avinash Reddy, senior counsel T Niranjan Reddy told the court on Thursday that the CBI was giving undue importance to Dastagiri and the trial court should not have relied on his deposition because he was part of the killer gang.
CBI counsel N Nagendran, however, told the court that Dastagiri’s confessional statement was not its only evidence. He said granting pardon to anyone was trial court’s decision. The case has been posted to April 17 for further hearing.
The CBI had filed a charge sheet in the murder case on October 26, 2021 and followed it up with a supplementary charge sheet on January 31, 2022.