Jagan Reddy’s uncle Vivekananda Reddy found dead, SIT to probe

YS Vivekananda Reddy, former minister and younger brother of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, was Friday found dead at his house in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.

The police initially registered a case under Section 174 CrPC (unnatural death) when the body was found by Reddy’s personal assistant Krishna Reddy. The family raised doubts over his death, citing bleeding injuries on his head and temple. After a post-mortem at a government hospital, the police said the case was altered to Section 302 IPC, murder.

His party, the YSR Congress, demanded a CBI investigation into the case even as the Andhra Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team, headed by Additional Director-General of Police (CID) Amit Garg, to probe the death. This is the third unnatural death in the YSR family that has a powerful political hold in Kadapa district.

Vivekananda Reddy died after returning home from an election campaign for the YSRC candidate S Raghurami Reddy in the Mydukuru constituency. He was found dead in the washroom, reports said.  He was living alone at his Pulivendula house and his wife was in the United States with her daughter. Sources said the YSRC leader had undergone a surgery for heart ailments in the past.

Rajasekhar Reddy’s son and YSRC president Jaganmohan Reddy, who was scheduled to launch his party’s election campaign and announce the candidates’ list from his native Idupulapaya on Saturday, rushed to Pulivenduala. He was accompanied by his mother Vijayamma, wife Bharati, and sister Sharmila. YSRC spokesperson Talasila Raghuram said the party was yet to decide on Saturday’s candidates list release.

Vivekananda stood by the Congress when Jagan Reddy broke ties with the grand old party in 2010. In return, he was rewarded with an MLC post and the agriculture ministry in the N Kiran Kumar Reddy government.

This led to a split in the YSR family with Congress high command fielding Vivekananda against Vijayamma, his sister-in-law and Jagan’s mother in Pulivendula in the 2011 by-election. He but suffered a humiliating defeat. Subsequently, Vivekananda Reddy returned to Jagan’s party.