Pre-arrest bail plea of Avinash Reddy in the morning, grilling later
HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Monday facilitated YSRC MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy to appear before the CBI on Tuesday, after hearing his anticipatory bail petition in relation to the probe into the murder of Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy.
The CBI had arrested his father Y.S. Bhaskar Reddy on Sunday and his close aide G. Uday Kumar Reddy on Saturday.
Avinash Reddy was supposed to appear before the CBI at 10 am on Tuesday but Justice K. Surender of the Telangana High Court, who was dealing with the petition, changed it to 4 pm so as to hear the matter in the morning.
Avinash Reddy had requested release on bail in the event of his arrest. His senior counsel T. Niranjan Reddy alleged that the CBI was leaking case details to the media. Electronic media had already flashed the news that Avinash was co-accused when it was not so.
He submitted that CBI had arrested Bhaskar Reddy even though his petition was pending before the High Court. Except for the statement of Shaik Dastagiri, a driver and accused who has since turned approver, the CBI had no evidence against Avinash Reddy, he said.
How can the CBI implicate a person or arrest him in a murder case based on the statement of an accused, he wondered.
Niranjan Reddy claimed that Vivekananda Reddy had been involved in illegal commercial transactions and was a womaniser but the CBI was looking into the political angle and not into the victim’s family disputes. He argued that Dr Suneetha Nareddy, daughter of the deceased, was trying to divert attention away from her husband.
CBI counsel said the agency had not only depended on the statements of the accused but had found that Avinash Reddy had played a key role in destruction of evidence. The CBI has some text messages exchanged from the MP’s phone with the accused, counsel said and added that if the agency felt it necessary it would arrest him.
Dr Suneetha requested that she be heard on Avinash Reddy’s plea. Justice Surender then rescheduled the CBI’s summons and adjourned the hearing to Tuesday morning.
