Hyderabad: YSR Congress Party President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking a direction to the Andhra Pradesh government to hand over the investigation in the attack on him at Vizag airport to an independent agency which is not under the control of the State government.
The writ petition stated that there has been a conspiracy angle beyond doubt going by sequence of events at the airport on October 25 and the manner in which the state police and Chief Minister have been trying to dilute the incident by doling out incoherent and uncorroborated details to the press even before the investigation began to divert and dilute the case.
The Leader of Opposition has narrated the events at the Vizag airport in detail and sought the intervention of the court in directing for an inquiry by an agency which is not within the control of the state as the TDP government has been actively pursuing the line to close the case at the earliest without allowing the law to take its own course.
The Leader of Opposition has named eight respondents in the writ petition beginning with the State of Andhra Pradesh followed by Director General of Police, two others from his Department along with chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and others.
Text of the writ petition:-
I, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy S/o Late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, aged about 46 years, Occ: Member of Legislative Assembly A.P. R/o. Plot No.3, 4 & 5, Lotus Pond Residency, Road No.12, Near MLA Colony, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad do hereby solemnly affirm and sincerely state on oath as under:
1. I am the Petitioner herein and am fully conversant with the facts of the case.
2. The instant writ petition is being filed by the me aggrieved by the abuse of the entire criminal justice administration by Respondent No.1 headed by the Government presided by Respondent No.5 and for complaining of various wrongful actions conducted by Respondents No. 2 to 4 at such behest and for espousing and unearthing a cause of serious conspiracy that needs to be properly investigated under the criminal justice administration in terms of the constitutional and legal provisions. The failure of the Respondents to undertake such actions in the legally provided manner is being challenged as unlawful, ultra vires and unconstitutional in the premises indicated hereinafter.
3. It is respectfully submitted that the Petitioner herein is the leader of Opposition of the State of Andhra Pradesh and is president of a Political Party named as ‘Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party’ (herein referred to as ‘YSRCP), which is a Registered Political Party with the Election Commission of India. The said Political Party under the leadership of the Petitioner, officiating as its president, has been elected as the principal opposition party entitling it to nominate the Leader of Opposition. On such nomination made by the party, the Petitioner herein has been officiating as the leader of opposition of the State of Andhra Pradesh.
4. It is respectfully submitted that the Petitioner has been repeatedly agitating and canvassing against the many wrongful and non-popular actions being conducted by the party in power running the Government in the State of Andhra Pradesh under the stewardship of Respondent No.5.
5. The Petitioner as a part of such demonstration against public policies has been conducting a series of agitations and has also undertaken a marathon “Praja Sankalpa Yatra” covering the entire length of the State of Andhra Pradesh for highlighting the mis-governance by the party in power and its failure to secure promised benefits for the State of Andhra Pradesh, including the Special Category status.
6. Deterred by the huge popular response generated by the Petitioner in highlighting the mis-governance of the ruling party, the ruling party, its members and its leader had initiated this brutal attempt to kill includes various mis-information measures stating that the Central Government had planned an alleged ‘Operation Garuda’ for the purpose of destabilizing the current Government of State of Andhra Pradesh. It is pertinent to submit that a Telugu film personality by name Sivaji, a noted TDP sympathiser, came up with the above theory called ‘Operation Garuda’, sometime in March when the Padayathra was gaining steam which he described to be a plot of the BJP Government, whereby he predicted that a life threatening non-fatal attack would be made on Sri Y.S.Jagan leading to the destabilization of the TDP Government by the BJP Government in the Centre. The whole story was hatched with a conspiracy in mind to eliminate the leader of Opposition and any failure in doing so could be blamed as “ Operation Garuda” fore told.
7. While so, on 25.10.2018, when I was on my way to Hyderabad from Visakhapatnam, I had entered the portals of the Visakhapatnam Airport and after passing through two security thresholds (one at the outer entry point and the second at the passengers entry point) I was escorted into the lounge area by the accompanying police escort.
8. While I was waiting at the said lounge, a person working as a waiter in the restaurant/cafeteria permitted to be operated at the Airport, came under the guise of serving certain refreshments. The said personunder the pretext of seeking selfie with mesuddenly sought to slash my throat with a sharp knife. Instinctively and reflectively, I moved my neck and shoulder to fend off the attack and the arc of the attempted assault resulted in causing a gash and injury on the top part of my left shoulder an inch or two underneath my neck which was his target area.
9. The assailant was immediately taken under control by the remaining present persons which included the Police present there and was later handed over to the concerned police officials of the State Government. A serious attack on me for committing murder was averted due to the reflexive action on the spur of the moment.
10. After completion of First Aid, I changed my blood soaked shirt and also treated that I am safe so as to avoid any public outrage, I boarded the scheduled flight as it was to leave in 10 minutes for departure at 01:05 pm to Hyderabad. Upon arrival in Hyderabad first I was examined at the Airport in the VIP Lounge there and then, I was directly taken from the Airport to City Neuro hospital for proper medical care. At the Hospital after a thorough check-up by the expert Doctors, the necessary medical care was administered, including suturing done with nine (9) stitches, four inside and 5 outside. Samples were also collected for the purpose of testing the presence of any arsenic/poisonous substances. I was advised to stay under careful medical watch until duly discharged by the Doctors.
11. After recovering from the suddenness of the incident and after the immediate medical attention provided, I was shocked to learn of various things that transpired in the intervening period from the attack conducted on me in the afternoon on and my boarding the flight till the time medical attention was administered to me in the late hours of the same day.
12. The following series of steps that were conducted in the intervening time give rise to a manifest and irrefutable presence of a very serious conspiracy conducted at very senior quarters and levels for the purpose of causing the attack and trying to eliminate me for political purposes:-
Within an hour of the attack occurring, the Respondent No.2 addressed a press conference indicating and stating that the assailant was a fan of YSR Congress Party and the attack was apparently done for the purpose of seeking publicity as the attack was on the left shoulder. (purporting to indicate that the attack was not a serious one in nature.) This statement is completely lacking any foundation in facts.
The Respondent No.5 in its capacity as the Chief Minister, addressed a press conference on the same day stating that the attack was orchestrated as an effort to defame the Government and the Respondent No.5.Respondent No. 5, thereafter referred the said attack being a part of Operation Garuda undertaken by the Central Government for unseating the Respondent No.5 as the Chief Minister. The Respondent No. 5 also made various other false and frivolous accusations to indicate that the attack was not a serious one by contending that after alighting at Hyderabad Airport, I had gone home and that upon advise given by another political party leaders and phone calls from BJP leaders from Delhi, I proceeded to a hospital from my home and got admitted only for the purpose of trumping up publicity.
(this allegation is manifestly disproved by the fact that I was provided the requisite police escort and security by the State apparatus which drove me directly from the Airport to the hospital. The said record can be clearly procured from and provided by Respondents No. 7 and 8.)
(Such vicious statement by the Respondent No.5 being incorrect as they are - importantly also talk of an alleged conspiracy behind the attack and such allegations come from no a less person than the person officiating as Chief Minister of the State.)
He further to trivialize the issue stated that the wound on my shoulder was only 0.5 cm in depth, however, the doctors who had actually treated confirmed that the cut was indeed 3.5 cm in depth, necessitating 9 stiches, with four stiches for the torn muscle and the others for the skin. It is shocking to imagine that this incident could have quite conceivably resulted in an injury to the carotid artery, resulting in fatal consequences. This was what was primarily intended by the perpetrators and was narrowly missed, thanks to the divine intervention and the my reflex actions. The attempt was to murder is also supported by the remand report.
I came to learn that in the press conference of Respondent No.2, it was mentioned that the assailant was carrying a 9 to 10 page letter in his pocket which the various press reports have shown to be containing more than one and having 2 to 3 different handwritings. The said letter has also been reported to talk about steps being taken after I become Chief Minister but ironically the attack was done to eliminate me to prevent me from attaining any such position.
Within an hour of the said incident, flexis were released to suggest that the assailant was sympathiser of YSR Congress Party. It is surprising that within an hour from the attack, the 2nd Respondent and the TDP party leaders could come up with flexis that relate to period nearly 11 months ago, 1st January to Pongal greetings, as pert the dates on the flexi. ]
Also several versions of the flexi images were released to the Media, with some containing a picture of the rose and some without. However, all the images had an eagle (Garuda in Telugu) depicted conspicuously. This was deliberately done by the TDP leaders to link this incident to ‘Operation Garuda’ showing that this was the handiwork of Operation Garuda.
13. All of the above done in a quick succession very soon after the incident seemed to indicate a clear effort to dilute the investigation and divert it in a wrong direction. That the statements made by Respondent No. 2 and 5 are now proved to be incorrect even in the lopsided investigation undertaken thereafter in the remand report that was filed by Respondent No. 4stating that the attempt made on me was a clear attempt to murder.
14. From these, it is obvious that this attack on me, was a part of the criminal conspiracy to eliminate me, the leader of opposition party and failing which, to use the incident to derive political advantage, blaming it on ‘Operation Garuda’, said to have been hatched by BJP Government, and as such the premises selected was the Airport.
15. That apart from it being a serious attempt of murder sought to be conducted on me, the following further facts clearly bear out that this was not an isolated incident undertaken by one person and that this effort was the handiwork of a larger and more serious conspiracy conducted at very senior level. These are evidenced inter alia by the following even from the preliminary facts that have emerged:-
The assailant had in his possession two knives which were taken through two security barriers in the Airport, including the metal detectors which would identify such metallic objects.
The assailant has aprevious criminal history which was ignored and disregarded when he was recruited in serious breach of Airport Personnel Protocol.
The assailant was engaged in a restaurant/cafeteria that is licenced and run by one Harshavardhan Choudhary who is a Telugu Desham party worker and was an aspirant for Gajuwaka constituency in 2014 election.
The assailant is a TDP sympathiser andis a senior office bearer of Telugu Desham party of his village unit. He was also sanctioned two houses on the recommendations of Janma Bhoomi Committee, such committees are widely regarded as committees of TDP group in the village. It is therefore apparent that the assailant belongs to a family of TDP members.
The venue of attack was carefully chosen to avoid any blame on the State Government as the Vishakhapatnam Airport was technically in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) regime yet knives could be brought in because this person was working in the restaurant that belonged to a TDP sympathiser.
Most curiously in a press clipping aired on 29.10.2018, when the assailant, who is in police custody, was being taken to the hospital shouted thathe is having a life threat. This creates an apprehension that the conspirators might even seek to eliminate the assailant to cover up the actual truth. `
16. All of the above instances point out to a high level conspiracy where a designed plan was hatched to eliminate me in a manner where the ruling party and the State government and the Respondent No. 5 cannot be blamed while all the events leading to and subsequent to the attack unclinchingly point towards involvement of ruling party and its leaders in relation to the said incident.
17. In view of my serious apprehension with regard to the manner in which things are being unfolded, when a police team visited me in the hospital from Andhra Pradesh, I unflinchingly expressed to make any statement to them stating that I have no confidence in the investigation being conducted by the Government under the control of Respondent No. 5 and stated that the investigation ought to be conducted by an independent and impartial agency which is not under the state government. Having no faith in a botched up investigation that was sought to be conducted as evidenced by Respondent No. 2’s statement made even within one hour of the incident, I was compelled not to assist in such unlawful endeavour being conducted presently under the aegis of Respondents No. 3 and 4.
18. In a continued concerted effort to give a quick closure and to cover up any investigation into the larger conspiracy that is clearly behind the attack Respondent No. 3, appointed as the head of the Special Investigation Team,is seeking to rush through the investigation and close the investigation and has sent yet another notice under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (Cr.P.C.)dated29.10.2018 which was served on me on 30.10.2018 to appear before the investigating officer on 31.10.2018. This unseemly rushshows the clear effort to put a quick closure to the issue. Moreso, the remand report speaks of the murder attempt but removes the conspiracy angle, contradicting to the letter which is also part of the remand report.
19. It is respectfully submitted that each of the above aspects including the very false accusation made by Respondent No. 5 about the attack being a conspiracy by the Central Government (while evidently incorrect and clearly sought to divert attention from the actual conspiracy) indicates that this whole attack is a product of complexity and conspiracy that needs to be probed thoroughly and properly and in an uninfluenced manner.
20. It is respectfully submitted that the necessity of conducting such impartial and uninfluenced investigation is even more necessary as the primary state actor, being Respondent No. 5 as the Chief Minister and Respondent No. 2 as the head of the police force along with several ministers in the State of Andhra Pradesh, have addressed press conferences diluting the gravity of the attack made on the Petitioner and contending that the attack was an orchestrated one or done by others unconnected with them or to trivialize it to state that the attack was a simple effort to gain publicity.
21. It would be impossible (and not merely improbable) that no fair investigation worthy of any nature can be conducted so long as such investigation is sought to be deliberately misdirected by the highest officials of the State including Respondents No. 2 and 5.
22. It has been consistently held by the Courts that impartial criminal investigation is a fundamental feature of rule of law which is a basic feature of the Constitution. Law recognizes every crime to be a crime against the society and is sought to be therefore, represented by the State presenting its prosecution. If the State itself is seeking to dilute the investigation and misdirect such investigation, it would be impossible for any fair investigation to be carried out. It is respectfully submitted that necessity on fair investigation has also been held to be conducted in the interest of the victim of the crime as a principle of fair trial. Such independent investigation is also required to maintain public faith and confidence in the criminal justice administration.
23. The Petitioner respectfully submits that the Petitioner has absolutely no faith in the manner of conduct of investigation so long as the Respondent No. 5 continues to officiate as Chief Minister and as manifested in the conduct of Respondent No.2 addressing a press conference within one hour of the incident. It would therefore, be just and appropriate that the said investigation be handed over to and conducted by any agency entirely unconnected with the State Government. It is respectfully submitted that unless such steps are taken not only are the Petitioner’s fundamental and constitutional rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21 violated, the provisions of Cr.P.C. with regard to the actual manner of conduct of investigation would be totally subverted rendering the entire exercise unlawful and unconstitutional.
24. For seeking the relief sought for in the above writ petition, the petitioner does not have any effective alternate remedy except to approach this Hon’ble Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
25. The petitioner did not file any other writ or proceedings before any other Court or Authority praying for the same relief sought for in this writ petition.
In the circumstances mentioned above, it is most respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction,one more particularly one in the nature of writ of Mandamus directing that the investigation into the attack done on the Petitioner on 25.10.2018 at Visakhapatnam Airport be investigated by any appropriate independent agency not functioning under the control of Respondents No. 1 and 2 as deemed appropriate by this Hon’ble Court and pass such order or other orders as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case.
In the interim, it is prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to direct the Respondents 3 to forthwith had over the investigation into the attack done on the Petitioner on 25.10.2018 at Visakhapatnam Airport to any appropriate independent agency not functioning under the control of Respondents No. 1 and 2 (State Government of Andhra Pradesh) pending disposal of the writ petition and pass such order or other orders as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case.