Suneetha Reddy, the daughter of former Andhra Pradesh Minister YS Vivekananda Reddy, has gone to the Supreme Court to challenge the Telangana High Court’s order that Kadapa MP Avinash Reddy cannot be arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) until April 25. Suneetha opposed the anticipatory bail of Avinash, who is a cousin of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, and was summoned by the CBI for further questioning in the case. The Supreme Court is expected to hear Suneetha’s petition on April 20.
Vivekananda Reddy was murdered at his residence in Pulivendula on March 15, 2019, a few days before the elections. The CBI took over the investigation into the case in 2020 on the direction of Andhra Pradesh High Court while hearing a petition of Suneetha Reddy, who raised suspicion about some relatives. The Supreme Court transferred the case to Hyderabad in November last year after Suneetha raised doubts about getting a fair trial and investigation in Andhra Pradesh.
The Telangana High Court directed the CBI to audio and video record the questioning of Avinash Reddy’s father Bhaskar Reddy and their follower Uday Kumar Reddy, who were recently arrested by the agency. The court asked the agency to follow the prescribed guidelines for questioning during the custody. The CBI took the two accused into custody for six days. The Supreme Court set April 30 as the deadline for the CBI to complete its investigation, so the agency is expediting the probe.
