Jagan Mohan Reddy points fingers at Chandrababu Naidu, Nara Lokesh in Vivekananda Reddy murder

The Opposition Leader said that the police produced a letter purportedly written by Vivekananda Reddy just before his death naming his driver as the accused. 
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. | Express
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. | Express

KADAPA/VIJAYAWADA: The Opposition YSR Congress, led by its chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and other leaders, alleged a bigger conspiracy behind the murder of Vivekananda Reddy and said the probe should be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a fair investigation. 

The incident kicked off a political storm with YSRC claiming that it was a political murder orchestrated by the State government, while Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu pointing fingers at the family members of the deceased.

Jagan Mohan Reddy, who rushed to Pulivendula from Hyderabad by road, alleged that the Chandrababu Naidu government was resorting to politics of murders.  “They killed a soft-spoken person with a 30-year political career in the most gruesome manner when he was alone in the house. He was axed to death brutally and the police are probing the case without any seriousness,’’ he alleged.

The Opposition Leader said that the police produced a letter purportedly written by Vivekananda Reddy just before his death naming his driver as the accused. 

“The assailants killed my uncle brutally adjacent to the bed and tried to create the impression that he collapsed in the washroom and suffered head injuries (both on the front and back) after hitting the commode. In such a scenario, how can a person write a letter and would the assailants be mute spectators?’’ he questioned and alleged that there was a deliberate attempt to mislead the investigation.

Jagan also claimed that when he was speaking to the SP and other senior officials, the SP received two to three calls from intelligence chief AB Venkateswara Rao. “This shows that the probe is being misled,’’ he alleged.

“Whoever is involved in the murder and however influential they may be, should be brought to book,’’ Jagan demanded. 

He further alleged that when his grandfather YS Raja Reddy was killed, Chandrababu Naidu was CM. “Raja Reddy was killed so as to instil fear in my father who was the Opposition leader then,’’ Jagan alleged and added that he still had suspicions over the mystery behind the death of his father in a chopper crash.

“The crash was investigated by the then CBI Joint Director VV Lakshminarayana (who later took the political plunge). Two days before my father’s death, Chandrababu Naidu declared on the floor of the Assembly that he would not allow Rajasekhara Reddy into the Assembly in future. Recently I was attacked in a high-security area in Visakhapatnam airport. In all these incidents, the common factor is Chandrababu Naidu,’’ Jagan said. 

Earlier, party Rajya Sabha MP V Vijay Sai Reddy said the TDP was resorting to politics of murder since 1998 and the YSR family had been targeted. Vijay Sai Reddy further alleged that the conspiracy was hatched by Chandrababu Naidu and his son and IT Minister Nara Lokesh and was executed by C Adinarayana Reddy, Kadapa MP candidate for the coming elections. 

Jagan will be meeting Governor ESL Narasimhan on Saturday afternoon to apprise him of ‘political murders’ in the State. 

The party also gave a call to party activists to stage peaceful protests with black flags. They were also told to place representations at the statues of Mahatma Gandhi. The final rites of Vivekananda Reddy will be performed at YSR Ghat on Saturday morning.

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