Kadapa MP YS Avinash Reddy once again skipped CBI interrogation in former Andhra Pradesh Minister YS Vivekananda Reddy's murder case. The MP, who was in Hyderabad, left for his hometown of Pulivendula in Kadapa on Friday, May 20. The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader has informed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that he was unable to appear before it as his mother has taken ill and so he had to rush to Pulivendula.
This is the second time this week that Avinash Reddy has skipped CBI questioning in his uncle Vivekananda Reddy’s murder case. The MP, who is the cousin of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, did not appear before the central agency on Tuesday, May 16. The CBI then asked him to appear before it on May 19. On Saturday, the CBI issued yet another notice, this time asking Avinash to appear for questioning on May 22.
Avinash Reddy had left his residence in Hyderabad on Friday and it was believed that he was heading for the CBI office in Koti. Media vehicles were also following him, but the MP's vehicle turned towards the highway.
Earlier on May 16, stating that he has pre-scheduled engagements in his parliamentary constituency, Avinash had conveyed to the CBI that he was unable to appear before it due to the short notice. However, on the same day, the CBI issued him a fresh notice, directing him to appear at its regional office in Hyderabad at 11 am on Friday, May 19.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain the MP's plea for an urgent hearing on his petition seeking a direction to the Telangana High Court to grant him anticipatory bail. Last month, Avinash Reddy, who has already been questioned four times by the CBI, had approached the Telangana High Court for anticipatory bail. The High Court on April 28 adjourned the hearing to June 5 and refused to pass an order restraining CBI from taking any harsh measures 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 Chief Minister YS 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 was alone at his house when unidentified persons barged in and killed him.
The CBI took over the investigation in 2020 on the direction of the Andhra Pradesh High Court while hearing a petition from Vivekananda Reddy's daughter Suneetha Reddy, who raised suspicion about some relatives. In November last year, the Supreme Court transferred the case to Hyderabad based on her petition. Last month, the CBI arrested Avinash Reddy's father YS Bhaskar Reddy in the case.
The agency told the court during hearings on multiple occasions that Bhaskar Reddy, Avinash Reddy and their follower Devireddy Shiva Shankar Reddy allegedly 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 claimed that the CBI ignored several key facts in the case.