The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday ordered the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the opposition party YSRCP to restrain themselves and stop politicising the murder of senior politician Y S Vivekananda Reddy, who was found dead at his home in Pulivendula town earlier this month.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Vivekananda’s wife, who filed a petition against the politicisation of her husband’s death and also asked the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to refrain from disclosing the progress of inquiry to the media as the death had taken a political turn ahead of the polls.
The court then adjourned the case to April 15. This comes days after Vivekananda’s daughter approached the Election Commission of India (ECI) with a similar demand and also demanded a free and fair probe into the death, to identify those involved and punish them appropriately.
She also sought an NIA or a CBI probe into her father's murder.
Vivekananda Reddy was elected from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency on a Congress ticket in 1999 and 2004. He was twice elected to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly (1989, 1994) from Pulivendula, a family stronghold.
The alleged murder of the leader, who was the brother of former CM YS Rajasekhar Reddy and uncle of YSRCP Chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, has resulted in the YSRCP and TDP trading charges of "murder politics" in the poll-bound state.
Last week, the Kadapa police arrested three people, including Vivekananda's Personal Assistant (PA) MV Krishna Reddy for allegedly tampering with evidence. Two others – Yerram Gangi Reddy and Prakash – have been arrested by the police, according to Kadapa DySP. The three accused have been accused of shifting Vivekananda Reddy’s body from the bathroom – where he was found – to the bedroom and wiping off bloodstains in the bedroom.