The Telangana High Court on Thursday revoked the bail granted to Erra Gangi Reddy, who is the prime accused in the murder case of former Andhra Pradesh minister Y S Vivekananda Reddy. The court also directed him to surrender before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Hyderabad by May 5, IANS reported.
The CBI officials filed a petition seeking the cancellation of the bail on the ground that Gangi Reddy is the main accused and has been influencing key witnesses in the case. The CBI counsel had argued that Gangi Reddy has political backing and is trying to put pressure on the witnesses through his connections.
The Telangana High Court agreed with the CBI's arguments and cancelled Gangi Reddy's bail. The court stated that if the accused failed to surrender, the CBI may arrest him.
The Supreme Court had recently extended the deadline for completing the investigation into the sensational case until June 30. On March 28, 2019, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Andhra Pradesh Police, which was then investigating the murder case, arrested Gangi Reddy, said IANS.
Gangi Reddy was granted default bail by a local court at Pulivendula on June 27, 2019, as the SIT had failed to file a chargesheet in the specified period. After the CBI took over the investigation and filed its chargesheet, it approached the court to cancel his bail. The court dismissed the CBI petition. Later, the Andhra Pradesh High Court also upheld the decision of the lower court.
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Subsequently, the CBI approached the Supreme Court, challenging the order of the High Court. In November last year, the Supreme Court transferred the trial in the murder case from Andhra Pradesh to the CBI court in Hyderabad.
Consequent to this, the apex court asked the CBI to approach the Telangana High Court for the cancellation of Gangi Reddy's bail.
Vivekananda Reddy, brother of former chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and uncle of Jagan Mohan Reddy, was found murdered at his residence in Pulivendula, 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 people barged in and killed him. The CBI took over the investigation in 2020 on the direction of the Andhra Pradesh High Court while hearing a petition from Vivekananda Reddy's daughter, Suneetha Reddy, who raised suspicions about some relatives.
The Supreme Court transferred the case to Hyderabad in November last year, observing that the doubts raised by Suneetha Reddy about getting a fair trial and investigation in Andhra Pradesh were reasonable.