Alleging failure of the Andhra police to arrest the culprits behind the murder of former MP and uncle of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, YS Vivekananda Reddy, the BJP on Sunday wrote a letter to the government asking that the probe be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

BJP state President Kanna Lakshminarayana, in a letter to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, expressed regret that the investigation by the police did not yield any result as the culprits are still at large and further sought the government to hand over the investigation to the CBI.

Kanna wrote, “It is to be regretted that the investigation into the brutal murder of Vivekananda Reddy in March is not yet completed. It is really unfortunate that the State police failed in completing the investigation. It is high time that the State government handed over the case to the CBI and see that the culprits are brought to book, failing which it will be difficult to create confidence in the minds of people about the law and order situation in the State. We demand immediate transfer of the case to the CBI.”

Vivekananda Reddy was hacked to death at his residence at Pulivendula in Kadapa district on March 15, just before the state Assembly elections. Jagan, who was then the leader of the Opposition, demanded a CBI probe and alleged Chandrababu Naidu's involvement in the murder. 

Accusing Naidu, Jagan had said, “I wonder why Naidu was afraid of a CBI investigation into the murder. Does this indicate that he and his ministers are involved in it? After all, murder politics were not new to the TDP. My grandfather Raja Reddy and uncle Vivekananda Reddy were murdered when the TDP was ruling in the State.”

However, shortly after Naidu was voted out and when one of the suspects in the murder died, Chandrababu did a volte-face and sought a CBI inquiry into the murder.