On arrival by road non-stop, CBI officials shifted Bhaskar Reddy, key accused in Vivekanand Reddy’s murder, to Osmania General Hospital for a medical check-up and then the residence of CBI court’s judge at Vijayanagar Colony. The judge remanded Mr. Reddy to judicial custody till April 29, upon which he was lodged in Chanchalguda Central Jail.
The CBI moved a petition before the judge for 10-day police custody of Mr. Reddy for interrogation in the murder but the latter’s lawyers opposed it on the ground that the arrest itself was illegal. They informed the judge that Mr. Reddy’s blood pressure was very high and he was suffering from heart related ailment. Yet, he was made to travel a long journey to Hyderabad non-stop.
After remanding him to judicial custody, the judge passed the order asking the jail authorities to take care of his health. He served a notice on Mr. Reddy’s lawyers to file a counter petition on police custody on Monday.
The CBI, in its remand report, to the court highlighted that Mr. Vivekanand Reddy’s murder was plotted a month earlier on the instructions of Mr. Reddy. The co-accused in the case received a lot of money from Mr. Reddy. He threatened the local Circle Inspector Shankeraiah to mislead the investigation.
The report also said that the CBI arrested him because there were high chances that he would flee. There was always the danger that he would not be available for further investigation. He influenced key witnesses through his supporters, and did not cooperate with the investigation and even gave misleading replies.
Mr. Reddy’s family nursed a grudge against Mr. Vivekanand Reddy since the MLC elections in 2017. He played a key role in tampering with evidence at the site of murder.
Published - April 17, 2023 05:58 am IST
