The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) postponed the questioning of Kadapa MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy in the Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy murder case to Tuesday evening because his petition for anticipatory bail was being heard by the Telangana High Court. The CBI had directed Avinash Reddy to appear before them at 10:30 am but postponed the hearing on the suggestion of the High Court. The agency had already deferred the MP’s questioning on Monday due to the hearing.
The High Court was hearing the arguments of counsels of Avinash Reddy, CBI, and Vivekananda Reddy’s daughter Suneetha Reddy, who has impleaded in the case. Avinash Reddy’s counsel pleaded to the court to direct the CBI not to arrest him, while the agency submitted to the court that they would arrest him if necessary. The CBI counsel told the court that they suspect Avinash Reddy’s involvement in the murder conspiracy and that he played a key role in causing the disappearance of evidence from the scene of the crime.
Suneetha Reddy has also filed an implead petition in the High Court and prayed to the court to hear her arguments before pronouncing its judgment. The MP fears arrest in the case as his father Y.S. Bhaskar Reddy was arrested on Sunday. In its petition seeking custody of Bhaskar Reddy, the CBI had named Avinash Reddy as a co-accused.
Vivekananda Reddy, brother of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and uncle of present Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, was found murdered at his residence in Pulivendula of Kadapa district on March 15, 2019, a few days before the elections. The CBI took over the investigation into the case in 2020 on the direction of Andhra Pradesh High Court while hearing a petition of Vivekananda Reddy’s daughter Suneetha Reddy, who raised suspicion about some relatives.
The Supreme Court transferred the case to Hyderabad in November last year while observing that doubts raised by Suneetha Reddy about getting a fair trial and investigation in Andhra Pradesh were reasonable.
