Hours after former minister and YSRCP leader YS Vivekananda Reddy was found dead at his residence on Friday morning, the Kadapa police have confirmed that he was murdered. It was initially reported that he had died of cardiac arrest. However, Vivekananda’s personal assistant, MV Krishna Reddy, raised suspicions that the senior leader was murdered as there were blood stains in his room. Krishna Reddy, the domestic help and the son of the domestic help entered the house through the side door and found him lying in a pool of blood near the bathroom.

Brother of former Andhra Pradesh CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy and uncle of YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Vivekananda was found dead in the bathroom at his residence in Pulivendula. The police believe that the murder took place between 11.30 pm and 5.30 am.

Following Krishna Reddy's complaint, the Pulivendula police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) after registering a case under Section 174 (suspicious death) of the CrPC (code of criminal procedure). They sent Vivekananda's body for autopsy to the Pulivendula Urban Hospital to determine the reason for his death.

Addressing the media, Kadapa SP Rahul Dev Sharma said that the primary observations in the preliminary investigation report suggested that Vivekananda was murdered. He said, "After revisiting the scene, a few blood stains and some other clues were found. We also found a few injuries on the head, hand and other parts. Given these pieces of evidence, we suspect that it was a murder.”

The SP further stated that the investigation is underway. He also said that fingerprints have been collected from the crime, though there are no suspects in the case so far. Meanwhile, the YSRCP has demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident.