Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy’s relative held for his uncle’s murder by CBI

YS Vivekananda Reddy, a former Lok Sabha and state assembly member, was found dead at his residence on the intervening night of March14-15, 2019

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Sunday arrested YS Bhaskar Reddy, uncle of Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, in connection with the murder of former MP YS Vivekananda Reddy, another uncle of the chief minister. Bhaskar Reddy’s son YS Avinash Reddy is suspected to be an accused in the case by the CBI.

The CBI arrested YS Bhaskar Reddy, uncle of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, in connection with the murder of YS Vivekananda Reddy (PTI)

YS Vivekananda Reddy, a former Lok Sabha and state assembly member, 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 had hinted at the involvement of Bhaskar Reddy in the murder, as he knew what his son has done to gain political power.

The role of father and son in the case became apparent when on Friday the federal agency arrested Gajjala Uday Kumar Reddy, alias Uday, who the CBI suspects 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 bail granted to him.

Uday, who hails from Pulivendula, is a close associate of YSR Congress party MP from Kadapa, Avinash Reddy. The CBI suspects Avinash Reddy was the mastermind in the murder of Vivekananda Reddy at his Pulivendula residence.

CBI sleuths apprehended Uday from the residence of Bhaskar Reddy at Pulivendula and took him to Hyderabad, where he was arrested, an official privy to the development said on condition of anonymity. Bhaskar Reddy was arrested on basis of Uday’s statement that he knew about the killing, the officer said.

In its 38-page affidavit filed before the Telangana high court on February 22, a copy of which has been reviewed by HT, the CBI mentioned the name of Uday 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 Google takeout technology to track the movement of the suspects, including Avinash Reddy and Uday, on the day of the murder.

The forensic analysis of Google takeout carried out by Central Forensic Laboratory in New Delhi revealed that Uday was present at the house of Avinash Reddy at 6.25 am on the day of murder, the agency said. “The location of his mobile phone revealed that he was present inside the house of Vivekananda Reddy between 6.29 am and 6.31 am,” the affidavit said.

The CBI pointed out that Avinash Reddy, along with 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 in Pulivendula in an ambulance,” the affidavit said.

The CBI questioned Uday a few times in the past on suspicion of destruction of evidence at the crime scene. “However, on January 27, 2022, he lodged a complaint with 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 past two months, moved the Telangana high court, challenging the CBI’s affidavit and seeking anticipatory bail.

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, he said. 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. 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.