Viveka murder case: CBI issues fresh notice to Kadapa MP

Hyderabad: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday issued a fresh notice to Kadapa MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy, asking him to appear before it on May 19 in connection with the former Andhra Pradesh minister Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy’s murder case.

The MP, who is cousin of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, has been directed by the central agency to appear at its regional office in Hyderabad at 11 a.m. on May 19.

The CBI issued the fresh notice after the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MP did not appear in response to the notice sent on Monday and sought four days’ time to appear before the central agency.

Stating that he has pre-scheduled engagements in his parliamentary constituency, he had conveyed to the CBI that he was unable to appear at the short notice.

Avinash Reddy, who was in Hyderabad, left for Pulivendula in Kadapa district on Tuesday morning. He received the fresh notice when he was on the way to his hometown.

The Kadapa MP, who was already questioned four times by the CBI, had last month approached the Telangana High Court for anticipatory bail.

The High Court on April 28 adjourned the hearing to June 5. The court had refused to to pass an order restraining the CBI from taking any harsh measure against him in the case.

The Supreme Court last month extended the deadline for completing the investigation into the case till June 30. The apex court had earlier fixed April 30 as the deadline for the CBI.

Vivekananda Reddy, brother of former (undivided) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and uncle of Jagan Mohan Reddy, was murdered at his residence in Pulivendula on March 15, 2019, weeks before the elections.

The 68-year-old former state minister and former MP was alone at his house when unidentified persons barged in and killed him.

The CBI took over the investigation into the case in 2020 on the direction of the Andhra Pradesh High Court while hearing a petition of his daughter Suneetha Reddy, who raised suspicion about some relatives.

In November last year, the Supreme Court transferred the case to Hyderabad on a petition by Suneetha Reddy.

Last month, the CBI arrested Avinash Reddy’s father Y.S. Bhaskar Reddy. The agency told the court during the hearing on multiple occasions that Bhaskar Reddy, Avinash Reddy and their follower Devireddy Shiva Shankar Reddy hatched a conspiracy to murder Vivekananda Reddy as he had opposed the Kadapa Lok Sabha ticket to Avinash Reddy.

Avinash Reddy has denied the allegations against him and his father and alleged that the CBI ignored several key facts in the case.