Hyderabad: Telangana High Court has given relief to YSRCP MP Avinash Reddy till May 31 in connection with the murder of former minister YS Vivekananda Reddy. Also, the court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to refrain from arresting Avinash till then.
Lawyers on behalf of MP Avinash Reddy and Viveka's daughter Sunitha presented their arguments before Telangana vacation bench judge Justice M. Laxman on Friday. On Saturday, Special Public Prosecutor Anil presented arguments on behalf of the CBI. After hearing the arguments of both sides, the bench adjourned the verdict on Avinash's anticipatory bail petition till Wednesday.
Presenting the arguments, CBI's Special Public Prosecutor Anil said that Avinash Reddy is not cooperating with the investigation. He is creating obstacles at every step since the beginning of the investigation, he said. "We will conduct the investigation as per our method and not as Avinash wants. Every time the notice is served, he does not attend the hearing citing some reason or the other. We have interrogated many people so far in connection with this case. Avinash is delaying by filing various petitions in the courts," the CBI lawyer told court.
On the court's question of the motive behind the murder, the CBI responded saying the conspiracy started a month before the murder. "Avinash's family has political differences with Viveka. Avinash wanted to gain political upper hand over Viveka. There was a conspiracy behind Viveka's defeat in the MLC elections," he told the court.
The bench asked the reasons behind the arrest of Bhaskar Reddy and Uday Kumar Reddy. To which, the CBI lawyer said that they were arrested for their involvement in the conspiracy. "Neither of them is cooperating with the custodial hearing. Avinash's conspiracy was executed by Shivashankar Reddy and Gangireddy. Avinash gave money to Sivashankar Reddy, who in turn gave it to Gangireddy," he said.
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The court asked with whom Avinash Reddy communicated through WhatsApp on the morning of the murder. CBI said it was not possible to identify with whom he spoken online. "We want to interrogate Avinash to find out with whom he talked. On May 12, we collected IPDR (Internet Protocol Detail Record) data of Avinash Reddy,'' CBI lawyer added.
The CBI lawyer further said that Avinash told that he was going to Jammalamadugu on the day of the murder. "He gave wrong information as there was no schedule for Avinash's election that day in Jammalamadugu. Avinash is attempting to influence witnesses, who are not coming forward due to Avinash's fear. There are some key witness statements that will be submitted to the court in a sealed cover," CBI said adding that the details of the witnesses cannot be disclosed at this stage
CBI's arguments on Avinash Reddy's anticipatory bail petition ended at 2 pm. After that, the lawyer on behalf of Avinash Reddy replied to the arguments placed by CBI. He also said that Avinash's mother is undergoing treatment in Hyderabad.
After hearing the arguments of both sides, the bench adjourned the verdict on Avinash's anticipatory bail petition till May 31 and also issued an interim order directing not to take any strict action against Avinash till then.
