VIJAYAWADA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the murder case of former MP YS Vivekananda Reddy, has filed a preliminary chargesheet against four accused in the case before the Pulivendula magistrate court.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the agency said four accused — T Gangi Reddy, Yadati Sunil Yadav, Gajjala Umashankar Reddy and Shaik Dasthagiri — were named in the chargesheet.“Investigation is going on to find the role of others, and evidence pertaining to the case is being collected,’’ the CBI statement said.
Vivekananda Reddy was murdered in his Pulivendula residence on March 15, 2019, a month before general elections in the State. The then TDP government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case. Later, the Andhra Pradesh High Court ordered a CBI probe in the case after considering a petition filed by YS Suneetha, daughter of Vivekananda Reddy, raising several doubts pertaining to her father’s murder.
The CBI took up the investigation and registered a case last July. As a part of the investigation, CBI officials conducted intensive searches at the homes of suspects in connection with the murder case and questioned the slain leader’s relatives and his close aide Erra Gangireddy.
Both Viveka’s former driver Dasthagiri and Erra Gangi Reddy were arrested earlier. They were produced in court for not cooperating with the investigating agency. Later, they got bail. A month ago, the CBI arrested two other accused Sunil Yadav and Umashankar Reddy. “The CBI registered a case on July 9, 2020.
During investigation, the CBI arrested two accused out of the total four in August and September this year from various places and produced them in the court. While two are in judicial custody, two accused are out on bail,” read the press release. The CBI has questioned more than 2,000 witnesses so far.