CBI seeks Uday Kumar Reddy's custody in Viveka murder

Hyderabad: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday sought 10-day custody of Gajjala Uday Kumar Reddy, who was arrested on April 14, in connection with the Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy murder case. The court adjourned the decision to April 17.

After he was arrested in Kadapa, the CBI court in Hyderabad ordered him to judicial custody till April 26, following which the probe officials filed a custody petition.

In its plea for custody, the CBI alleged that as per an analysis of Google data of Uday Kumar Reddy, he was with Y.S. Avinash Reddy and other accused on the day of the murder. At 6.25 am, he was at Avinash Reddy’s residence and four minutes later, they were both involved in the destruction of evidence by cleaning bloodstains from the scene of the crime.

The CBI contended that Uday Kumar Reddy had also arranged cotton and bandages, and got his father Gajjala Jai Prakash Reddy — a compounder at EC Gangi Reddy Hospital — to aid them in hiding the injury marks on Vivekananda Reddy’s body.

Officials told the court that as per their probe, Uday Kumar Reddy’s neighbour T. Prabhavathi recollected being told by Reddy’s mother, Gajjala Shakunthala, that Vivekananda Reddy was dead around 4 am on March 15, 2019. Uday Kumar Reddy left the house at 3.35 am and was doing rounds of Pulivendula till 4.01 am, the CBI said.

The CBI questioned how Uday Kumar Reddy was aware of Vivekananda’s death as the victim’s watchman, Ranganna, did not call anyone or raise the alarm about a murder.

Meanwhile, Uday Kumar Reddy filed a bail petition as well, which the court decided to hear along with the custody petition, on Monday.