NIA Officers In Visakhapatnam To Probe Jaganmohan Reddy Attack Case

  VISAKHAPATNAM: National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials arrived in Visakhapatnam on Saturday to take charge of investigation into the knife attack on YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in October last year. 

In the absence of either a court order or a written directive from the state government, Visakhapatnam city police allegedly refused to hand over the probe to the probe agency , top police sources said.

A NIA inspector arrived in Visakhapatnam Saturday and  approached the Special Investigation Team of the Visakhapatnam city police for details related to the case, sources said.

"The NIA came with only a circular issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs that the case has been handed over to it for investigation There is neither an order of the High Court nor an order from the state government in this regard. As such we can't give away any records of the case," a top police official said.

The main accused in the case Srinivasa Rao is currently in judicial custody in Visakhapatnam jail.

Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Leader of the Opposition in Andhra Pradesh assembly had escaped with a "deep" cut on his left shoulder in the attack by Srinivasa Rao, who had approached him when he was leaving the VIP lounge to board a flight to Hyderabad and asked for a ''selfie''.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, while addressing a public meeting in Srikakulam district on Saturday, said handing over of the case to the NIA proved the Centre's "highhandedness."