The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) postponed questioning of Kadapa MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy in Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy murder case to Tuesday evening as his petition for anticipatory bail was being heard by the Telangana High Court.
The CBI, which had directed Avinash Reddy to appear before the CBI regional office at 10.30 a.m., postponed the hearing on the suggestion of the High Court.
The agency had earlier deferred the MP's questioning on Monday in view of the hearing.
The High Court was hearing the arguments of counsels of Avinash Reddy, CBI and Vivekananda Reddy's daughter Suneetha Reddy, who has impleaded in the case.
Avinash Reddy's counsel pleaded to the court to direct the CBI not to arrest him. The agency submitted to the court that if necessary they will arrest Avinash Reddy.
The CBI counsel told the court that they suspect Avinash Reddy's involvement in the murder conspiracy. The central agency believes that he played a key role in causing disappearance of evidence from the scene of the crime.
Suneetha Reddy has also filed an implead petition in the High Court. She prayed to the court to hear her arguments before pronouncing its judgment.
The MP fears arrest in the case as his father Y.S. Bhaskar Reddy was arrested in the case on Sunday. In its petition seeking custody of Bhaskar Reddy, the CBI had named Avinash Reddy as co-accused.
Bhaskar Reddy, who was arrested in Pulivendula on Sunday, was brought to Hyderabad and produced before a magistrate, who remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days.
The agency has alleged that Bhaskar Reddy along with co-accused D. Siva Shankar Reddy, Gangi Reddy, G. Uday Kumar Reddy and Avinash Reddy played key roles in causing disappearance of evidence from the scene of murder. For the first time, the CBI has named Avinash Reddy as accused in the case.
Avinash Reddy, cousin of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, has been questioned by the CBI four times during the last couple of months. However, his statements were recorded as a witness.
Following his father's arrest on Sunday, Avinash Reddy alleged that the CBI ignored some key facts in the case and was treating them as the accused.
Vivekananda Reddy, brother of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and uncle of present Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, was found murdered at his residence in Pulivendula of Kadapa district on the night of March 15, 2019, a few days before the elections.
The 68-year-old former state minister and former MP was alone at his house when unidentified persons barged in and killed him.
The CBI took over the investigation into the case in 2020 on the direction of Andhra Pradesh High Court while hearing a petition of Vivekananda Reddy's daughter Suneetha Reddy, who raised suspicion about some relatives.
The Supreme Court transferred the case to Hyderabad in November last year while observing that doubts raised by Suneetha Reddy about getting a fair trial and investigation in Andhra Pradesh were reasonable.