The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Raja Reddy murder case: all accused acquitted

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Tuesday, Apr 13, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Raja Reddy murder case: all accused acquitted

By Our Staff Reporter

CUDDAPAH, APRIL 12. All the 16 accused in the sensational murder of Y.S. Raja Reddy (75), father of the former Congress Legislature Party leader, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, in a bomb attack in Vemula in Cuddapah district in 1998, were acquitted by the Cuddapah Fast Track Court Judge, M. Chalapathi Rao, on Monday.

Raja Reddy was killed in a bomb attack by rivals on his car near a culvert in Vemula town while he was going from YSR estate at Idupulapaya to Pulivendula on May 23, 1998 afternoon. He died instantly in the car in the gory attack. The Government entrusted the case to the CB-CID, which registered a case against 19 accused persons, all of them Telugu Desam Party functionaries, and chargesheeted them in 1999.

One of the accused, Perla Uma Maheswara Reddy, who sustained splinter injuries while attacking Raja Reddy, was hacked to death in his house in Vemula in retaliation on the same day. The former Vempalle mandal parishad president, S.V. Satish Kumar Reddy, who is now the TDP candidate of the Pulivendula Assembly constituency, was excluded from the list of accused during CID investigation. Another accused, P. Brahmananda Reddy of Gondipalle village, died in a road accident during the course of trial.

Those acquitted by the Judge were former Pulivendula market committee chairman, Perla Parthasarathi Reddy and his brothers - Perla Somasekhara Reddy (A 1), Perla Sesha Reddy - and Perla Ramajaneya Reddy, Perla Ramakrishna Reddy, Kanala Sudhakar Reddy, Bala Bayyapu Reddy, Bojja Nagamalla Reddy of Vemula, Annareddy Sambasiva Reddy and Annareddy Srinivasa Reddy, Annareddy Dasireddigari Lakshmi Reddy, Palle Venkatarami Reddy of Chintalajutoor, former mandal president of Vemula, Vaddarapu Obaiah, Ragipindi Sudhakar Reddy of Velpula, O. Ramana Reddy of Narepalle and Poreddy Viswanatha Reddy of Annaiahgaripalle.

The murder of Raja Reddy caused a sensation and led to rioting and arson in Pulivendula and Vemula mandals and the retaliatory hacking to death of an accused, Perla Uma Maheswara Reddy, on the same day.

Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy's son, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, his relatives and those of the accused thronged the district court complex in large numbers as the judgment was pronounced. Heavy security arrangements were made with armed policemen on the court premises.

All accused acquitted

The Cuddapah Fast Track Court Judge, M. Chalapathi Rao, on Monday acquitted all the nine accused in the murder of a Telugu Desam Party functionary, Perla Uma Maheswara Reddy, in Vemula in Cuddapah district in May 1998.

Uma Maheswara Reddy (25), an accused in the brutal killing of Y.S. Raja Reddy, Congress leader and father of the former CLP Leader, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, was brutally hacked to death in his house by rivals in retaliation. The Government handed over the case to the CBCID, which booked a case against nine accused persons, all Congress functionaries. Those acquitted were the Pulivendula mandal parishad president, E.C. Gangi Reddy, former Pulivendula ZPTC member, Y.S. Bhaskar Reddy, both close relatives of Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy, ex-Pulivendula mandal parishad vice-president, Devireddy Sivasankara Reddy, Rajula Hussain Peera, all of Pulivendula, Kottam Mabu alias Sheik Mabu of Vemula, Gajula Abdullah, A. Ramanjaneya Reddy, A. Balagangi Reddy and G. Narayanaswamy.

Incidentally the judgements in the Raja Reddy and Uma Maheswara Reddy murder cases were delivered today and a total of 25 accused in both the cases were acquitted by the Fast Track Judge.

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