An accused-turned-approver in the sensational murder of former MP YS Vivekananda Reddy, on Tuesday, February 22, sought security, saying he faces threat to his life. Shaik Dastagiri, who had worked as the driver of Vivekananda Reddy, told reporters that he and his family members need proper security. He said he was not happy with the security provided to him after he made a request to the police.
Dastagiri, who is accused number four in the case, said the threat to his life and the lives of his family members increased after he gave two statements to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case.
The CBI on Monday, February 12, recorded the second statement of Dastagiri under Section 164(1) of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) before Pulivendula court. His first statement was recorded on August 31 last year.
Meanwhile, a complaint made by Dastagiri to the CBI in September last year became public on Tuesday. He alleged that after he recorded his first statement, some accused and suspects tried to pressurise him to reveal the statement made before the agency. He alleged that they also tried to influence him by offering any amount of money and 10 to 20 acres of land.
Four accused appeared in Pulivendula court on Tuesday, February 22. On the direction of the court, copies of the charge sheet were handed over to their lawyers.
Two accused - Erra Gangi Reddy and Dastagiri - appeared before the magistrate. Two other accused Sunil Yadav and Uma Shankar Reddy were brought from Kadapa Jail. Another accused Devireddy Shiva Shankar Reddy could not attend the court as he is currently undergoing treatment at RIMS.
In another development on Tuesday, the case was transferred from Pulivendula court to Kadapa district court. The Pulivendula magistrate transferred the case on a request by the CBI which is probing the case. The magistrate said the hearings in the case relating to remand, bail and other matters will henceforth be held in Kadapa court.
The CBI stepped up investigation in the case after filing the supplementary charge sheet in which it said Kadapa MP Avinash Reddy, along with another accused in the case, propagated the theory of the former minister dying due to a heart attack while the fact is that he was found in a pool of blood with grievous injuries.
Avinash Reddy is son of YS Bhaskar Reddy, brother of Vivekananda Reddy and cousin of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The CBI filed a charge sheet in the murder case on October 26, 2021 and followed it up with a supplementary charge sheet on January 31, 2022.
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 Sunita, who raised suspicion about some relatives’ involvement in her father’s murder.