Amaravati: In a breakthrough by the Central Bureau of Intelligence (CBI) in the murder case of YS Vivekananda Reddy, the former minister and uncle of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the central agency has been able to pinpoint Kadapa MP YS Avinash Reddy as the co-conspirator and suspected killer of the deceased minister.
The agency, in its chargesheet, revealed that it suspects Reddy orchestrated the murder through his aide Devireddy Sivasankar Reddy. It also added that YS Vivekananda Reddy wanted himself, YS Sharmila, or YS Vijayamma to contest for MP from Kadapa, prompting Avinash Reddy to hatch the murder plan.
The agency, in its chargesheet, named Devireddy Sivasankar Reddy, as well as four others, Yerra Gangireddy, Yadati Sunil Yadav, Gajjala Umashankar Reddy and Shaik Dastagiri, as co-conspirators in the plan, which was hatched by February 10, 2019 in Yerra Gangireddy's house.
The document also added that Sivasankar Reddy was a prominent YSRCP leader in the Kadapa district, and that before the MLC elections, he had expressed dissatisfaction over YS Vivekananda Reddy joining the party due to fears of his reduced influence in the Rayalaseema (southern Andhra Pradesh) region. The chargesheet noted that the murder occurred due to political, financial as well as personal reasons.
The agency was aided substantially by technology, as it was revealed through Gmail coordinates that Sunil Yadav was present at Viveka’s home around 2.42 am on March 15, 2019, the night of the murder. On the day of the murder, and the following day, Sunil and Dastagiri were found to have exchanged calls and messages.
According to CCTV footage accessed in the case, Umashankar Reddy was seen fleeing Vivekananda Reddy's house on the night of the murder. Sunil Yadav, Umashankar Reddy, and Dastagiri executed the plan under the guidance of Yerra Gangireddy. Four or five days after the murder, Sunil paid Dastagiri Rs 1 crore. Umashankar Reddy and Sunil also got Rs 1 crore each. The CBI seized Rs 46.70 lakh which Dastagiri gave to a friend of his named Munna. The post-mortem report had revealed that the former minister suffered seven injuries on the head. The report added that he died of severe brain injury along with the hemorrhagic shock. The autopsy revealed that he may have been killed with an axe.
