Vizag Airport Attack Case: NIA Court Adjourns Matter To April 20

Vijayawada:  The NIA court on Monday adjourned to April 20 the hearing in the case relating to the 2018 knife attack on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSJagan Mohan Reddy at Visakhapatnam Airport as the counsel stated that the National Investigation (NIA) had not considered certain key facts including the conspiracy angle and the criminal history of the accused while investigating the case.

J. Srinivas Rao, a worker at the restaurant had attacked Jagan Mohan Reddy with a small knife used in a cockfight, at Visakhapatnam Airport on October 25, 2018. Jagan, then leader of the opposition, had suffered an injury on his arm. 

As the counsel for the Chief Minister sought time to present his arguments, the court adjourned the hearing to April 17. The chief minister's counsel Venkateshwarlu on Monday presented his arguments as to why a detailed inquiry by the NIA was needed in the case. Advocate Inakollu Venkateshwarlu presented arguments on behalf of CM Jagan. He argued that the NIA had filed the charge sheet without considering many factors and had not investigated the conspiracy aspect, therefore, further investigation was required.

Advocate Venkateswarlu brought to the attention of the court that the accused was taken to Harshvardhan's restaurant as per the scheme. On the other hand, why did the photo of Garuda mentioned earlier by a film actor appear on the flexi set up by the accused Seenu in his village? He brought to the attention of the court that NIA has not given any case diary on other issues.

The court was told that the accused Srinivas Rao was sanctioned a house site by Janmabhoomi Committee during Telugu Desam Party (TDP) rule. He wanted to know how a person with a criminal background and links with TDP was given a job at the airport. Stating that this has raised many doubts, the counsel sought a detailed investigation. 

After the attack, the then TDP government handed over the case to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police but Jagan Mohan Reddy refused to record his statement saying he had no trust in agencies controlled by the state government. Suspecting a conspiracy by the TDP, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) had moved the state high court, seeking a probe by a central agency into the case. Based on the court direction, the Centre handed over the case to the NIA on December 31, 2018, and the agency registered the case on January 1, 2019.

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