PNS|yderabad
YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Lok Sabha member from Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh Y S Avinash Reddy on Friday alleged that the CBI investigation into the murder of former minister YS Vivekananda Reddy is centred around targeting a single individual.
Addressing a press conference here after appearing before the CBI, Avinash Reddy said it was unfortunate that CBI investigation is not going on in the right direction as it is not ‘fact-targeted’.
The Kadapa MP said he had submitted representation to the CBI on the facts he knew and asked the agency to investigate those facts also in depth.
Lashing out at TDP, Avinash Reddy said that a few facts of ‘Google takeout’ came into play and said that whether it is ‘Google takeout or TDP takeout’ only time will tell. He said, strangely, the allegations made by the TDP one year back appeared in the counter affidavit filed by the CBI a few days ago. These things give rise to doubts on the way the CBI investigation is being carried out.
Denouncing what he called trial by the media, Avinash Reddy appealed for ‘responsible reporting’. He further said that debates are being conducted on media channels on irrelevant topics in their own way which will have its influence on the inquiry.
He further said that while the inquiry was under way the media trial is being conducted to decide who is the culprit and who is not.
Avinash Reddy said that he was the first person who spoke to the media from the mortuary on the day YS Vivekananda Reddy was killed and again two days later he spoke to the media.
He said, “What I spoke to the media on that day, I told the same to the CBI and if the CBI asks me time and again I will tell the same which is the fact and that is what I know. One can even check the old video footage.”
After being issued summons by the CBI, this is the second time that Avinash Reddy is appearing before the central agency, which is probing Vivekananda Reddy’s murder case.
Avinash Reddy, who is related to Vivekananda Reddy, had earlier appeared before CBI in January.
Vivekananda Reddy was the brother of the late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and uncle of incumbent AP CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
He was found murdered at his residence in Pulivendula, the constituency now represented by his nephew, on the night of March 15, 2019, weeks before the state Assembly elections.
The case was initially probed by a special investigation team (SIT) of the state crime investigation department, but was handed over to the CBI in July 2020.
The CBI had filed a charge sheet in the murder case on October 26, 2021 and followed it up with a supplementary charge sheet on January 31, 2022.
