Vivekananda Reddy not murdered over property, says Sharmila

Hyderabad, April 26 (IANS) YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) leader Y.S. Sharmila said on Wednesday that her uncle Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy was not murdered for his property as he had already bequeathed his entire property to his daughter Suneetha.

Sharmila told reporters here that Vivekananda Reddy's property was in the name of his daughter for a long time.

Her remarks assumed significance in view of the allegations by some of the accused in the case and the alleged second wife of Vivekananda Reddy that he was killed as he wanted to give his property to his son from the second wife.

Sharmila, sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, also said that if Suneetha's husband Rajasekhar Reddy wanted property he would have killed Suneetha and not Vivekananda Reddy as all the assets were already in her name.

She also found fault with the allegations being made against the slain former minister and former MP. "Vivekananda Reddy was a people's man. People of Pulivendula and Kadapa district know him. He lived a simple life," she said.

She said it was unfortunate that some media houses were indulging in character assassination by airing baseless stories about his personal life. "Nobody has a right to speak about the personal life of my uncle," she said.

Vivekananda Reddy, brother of former chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, was murdered in his house in Pulivendula on March 15, 2019, few weeks before the elections.

The CBI, which is probing the case, recently arrested Vivekananda Reddy's cousin Y.S. Bhaskar Reddy and grilled the latter's son and Kadapa MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy. The agency suspects that they hatched a conspiracy to kill Vivekananda Reddy as he was not in favour of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) fielding Avinash Reddy as the candidate from Kadapa Lok Sabha seat.

Vivekananda Reddy reportedly wanted Jagan Mohan Reddy to field the latter's sister Sharmila or mother Y.S. Vijayamma as the party candidate.

Avinash Reddy, who has approached the Telangana High Court for anticipatory bail, alleged that the CBI was trying to implicate them in the case. He claimed that the CBI ignored key facts in the case, including that Vivekananda Reddy's family members were unhappy with him for marrying another woman. He also claimed that Vivekananda Reddy wanted to give his property to his second wife and son.