Vivekananda Reddy found murdered, YSRCP demands CBI probe

Hyderabad: YS Vivekananda Reddy, former minister and younger brother of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, was found murdered at his residence in Pulivendula town of Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh on Friday morning. He was 68 years old and is survived by his wife and a daughter.

Earlier it was believed that Vivekanandra Reddy died of a cardiac arrest. However, on a complaint by his personal assistance M.V. Krishna Reddy, the police had registered a case of suspicious death and began investigations. Further, post mortem revealed that there were seven injury marks on his body, including four injuries on his head. The clues gathered from the scene of offence indicated that it was a murder. This was confirmed by Kadapa Superintendent of Police Rahul Dev Sharma. He said that a case of murder has been registered and a Special Investigation Team has been constituted to probe the case from all angles.

YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and his mother Vijayamma rushed to Pulivendula from Hyderabad on hearing the news.

Vivekananda Reddy was twice elected as MLA from Pulivendula constituency in 1989 and 1994. In 1999 and 2004, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Kadapa constituency. In 2009, he was elected as MLC and also served as a minister in N. Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet in the then united Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, YSR Congress party spokesperson Vasireddy Padma demanded CBI enquiry into Vivekananda Reddy's murder.