HYDERABAD: CBI sleuths on Friday questioned Kadapa MP and YSRCP senior leader YS Avinash Reddy in connection with the YS Vivekananda Reddy murder case for five hours at the agency’s office located in Sultan Bazar.
According to sources, Avinash Reddy was questioned about the calls he had made on the fateful day to the accused as well as a Rs 40 crore deal allegedly struck with the accused. The sources said that the CBI sleuths asked the MP why he had made calls early in the morning to Naveen and others and the reason for speaking with the accused several times on the day of the murder.
The agency also questioned the MP why he made calls to Dastagiri, who has turned approver in the case. Sources said that the MP asked the CBI sleu-ths to allow his lawyers to be present during questioning. However, the officials refused this request.
The agency officials also confronted the MP with a statement by Krishna Mohan Reddy, who is OSD to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, that he had claimed that Vivekananda Reddy had died of a heart stroke. They asked him why he had spread such incorrect information.
According to sources, the CBI sleuths told Avinash Reddy that Dastagiri informed them that a deal worth Rs 40 crore was struck to murder Vivekananda Reddy and the conspirators behind this were Siva Shanker Reddy and others and the MP was aware of this. The sleuths asked him to clarify about this alleged deal.
They said that the CBI collected the bank transactions of the accused and others facing allegations, including Avinash Reddy and his father Bhaskar Reddy to trace the origins of this Rs 40 crore. The sources said that the MP denied that there was any financial link between him and the accused.
After five hours of questioning, the MP emerged from the CBI office and spoke to the media. He said that the CBI summoned him under CrPC Section 160, and did not inform him whether he would have to come before the agency again.Alleging that the CBI was pro-TDP, the MP said that the sleuths were repeating a year-old story and had said the same thing in court.
Demanding that the CBI reveal the letter allegedly seized at the crime scene, the MP wanted to know why there was provision for recording his questioning. “Was I questioned as a witness or an accused? Was the CBI questioning me on behalf of the TDP?” he asked.
Avinash Reddy requested the CBI to investigate the case impartially and appealed to the media not to indulge in propaganda against him.