Hours after the death of former Andhra Pradesh Minister YS Vivekananda Reddy after a reported cardiac arrest on Friday morning, doubts were raised on the mysterious circumstances in which his body was found.
A complaint was filed with the Pulivendula urban police station by his Personal Assistant who was the first person to find 68-year-old Vivekananda's body at the latter's residence. The senior politician was alone at his house when the incident took place.
In his complaint to the police, the PA MV Krishna Reddy said that he reached Vivekananda's house at 5:30 am on Friday morning, following which he called his wife and said that the politician had not yet woken up. She told him that he might have arrived late last night and might be sleeping. So they decided to wake him up and tried shouting out to him and calling him on his phone. When that did not work, Krishna Reddy gathered the house help, her son and the watchman to check if Vivekananda had gone for a walk. It was then that the watchman noticed that one of the side doors were open. At around 6 am, he told the police that he entered the house through the side entrance to find blood stains in the room and Vivekananda’s body in the toilet.
Vivekananda Reddy is the brother of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy and uncle of present Leader of Opposition YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. A case has been registered under Section 174 (Suspicious death) of the CrPC.
"The complainant said that there were injuries on his forehead, the back of his head and on his palms. We have sent the body to the Pulivendula Area Hospital for a post mortem and an investigation has begun. His family members are expected to arrive soon," Pulivendula Urban CI J Shankaraiah told TNM.
Meanwhile, YSRCP MP Vijayasai Reddy also expressed doubts over Vivekananda's death and demanded a thorough investigation into the death. Speaking to reporters, he said that the possibility of a conspiracy could not be ruled out until the autopsy report was released. He also said that YSRCP President Jagan Mohan Reddy was on his way to Pulivendula and the last rites of Vivekananda would be conducted on Friday evening or on Saturday morning.
Speaking to TNM, Kadapa SP Rahul Dev Sharma said, "A Special Investigation Team has been formed headed by Addl SP (Operations) B Lakshminarayarana. CLUES team visited the spot along with dog squad. They took stock of the scene and forensic experts were called to the residence. We are investigating the incident from all angles and we'll ensure that no stone is left unturned."
Born in 1950, Vivekananda Reddy served as an MLA, MLC and MP besides holding several positions in the Congress party over the decades. Reddy holds a degree in Agriculture from SV Agricultural College in Tirupati. He was first elected as an MLA in 1989 and later in 1994, from Pulivendula constituency, which is a bastion of the YS family, as the seat is presently held by Jagan. Later, Vivekananda became an MP for two consecutive terms from Kadapa in 1999 and 2004.
Though YS Jagan Mohan Reddy formed YSRCP in 2011 after his father's death in a helicopter crash, Vivekananda Reddy remained in Congress. He joined the YSRCP ahead of the 2014 elections.