The National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Vijayawada on Tuesday, March 15, has ordered Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to appear before it on April 10, in connection with a knife attack on him four years ago. The court also directed CM Jagan’s personal assistant K Nageshwar Reddy to appear before it. The court was hearing the case on Tuesday, March 14, during which CISF Assistant Commandant Dinesh Kumar was questioned. CM Jagan sustained injuries after he was attacked with a ‘kodi katti’ or knife used in rooster fights at the Visakhapatnam airport in 2018.
On Tuesday, the police handed over the ‘kodi katti’, another small knife, a purse and a cell phone that were seized from the crime scene. On October 25, 2018, while campaigning for the Assembly elections, CM Jagan reached the Visakhapatnam airport and a youth identified as Srinivas Rao attacked him with the knife, resulting in injuries to his arm. However, his security personnel had overpowered the attacker.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which was in power at the time, had handed over the case to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police. However, CM Jagan had refused to record his statement, saying he had no trust in agencies controlled by the state government. The YSRCP had filed a petition with the Andhra High Court, asking for a central agency to look into the case. Based on the court direction, the Union government handed over the case to the NIA on December 31, 2018 and the agency registered the case on January 1.
The accused Srinivasa Rao was working at the airport canteen on a contract basis at the time. He has been a remand prisoner in Rajamahendravaram Central Jail for the past four years, waiting for the trial. Earlier, his mother Savithri had written to then Chief Justice of India NV Ramana seeking that the case be expedited or her son be granted bail.