Hyderabad: An Andhra Pradesh police inspector has done the unthinkable and served Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu a legal notice, seeking a public apology and compensation of Rs 1.45 crore for “defamatory remarks” connecting him to the murder of former minister Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy in 2019.
Jogi Sankaraiah, a Circle Inspector (CI) with the state police’s Kurnool Range, says he was forced to take this step as the chief minister was “repeatedly making false, malicious, and defamatory statements” against him with reference to Reddy’s murder case. He said the CBI charge sheet had only named him as a witness in the case.
Sankaraiah, 57, was the CI at Pulivendula when the sensational murder took place in the YS family’s hometown in Kadapa district in Rayalaseema.
The legal notice served on his behalf by advocate Dharaneeswara Reddy, dated 18 September, which came to light on Wednesday, said the chief minister’s repeated remarks caused “grave injury to my client’s professional reputation, severe mental agony and humiliation to him and his family, prejudicial impact on ongoing judicial proceedings and loss of public esteem and community standing”.
It called upon Naidu to “cease and desist from making further defamatory statements”, issue a public apology in the A.P. Legislative Assembly and through all media outlets where his “false statements were made”, pay compensation of Rs 1.45 crore for “irreparable reputational, professional, and personal damage and refrain from abusing your constitutional office to malign public servants”.
The notice warns of potential legal proceedings if Naidu fails to comply within 15 days of receiving the notice.
“None, nothing,” an official from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) when ThePrint sought to know if there was any response from the Chief Minister’s Office to the notice.
The YS Viveka case
Vivekananda was the late CM Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s younger brother, who in his long political career served as an MLA, MLC, Lok Sabha MP and also a minister in united Andhra Pradesh. He is the uncle of YSRCP chief and former chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Viveka, as he was popularly known, was found gruesomely murdered at his residence at Pulivendula on 15 March 2019, just weeks ahead of the general and assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, a time when the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by Naidu was in power.
Investigated by the state police teams under both Naidu and Jagan, the case was later taken over by the CBI following a legal fight by Viveka’s daughter, Narreddy Sunitha. The high-profile case is now subjudice before the CBI Special Court, Nampally, Hyderabad.
Several arrests were made and the CBI had also named Y.S. Avinash Reddy, the sitting Kadapa MP and a close relative of Jagan, as an accused in the case.
Days after the murder that shook the state public and politics, Sankaraiah was put under suspension, which extended till October 2021, when he was reinstated during the YSRCP’s tenure.
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Notice details
The legal notice says that Sankaraiah was cited only as a witness (LW9) in the CBI charge-sheet. “He has never been named as an accused,” says the notice part titled “factual background”.
“Despite the above factual position, you have repeatedly made false, malicious, and defamatory statements against my client through press conferences, Assembly speeches, and print/electronic media, causing irreparable damage to his reputation in general public as well as his professional life,” the notice tells Naidu.
The notice, a copy of which is with ThePrint, lists seven instances. The first one on the day of murder, 15 March 2019, when in a press conference, then CM Naidu, allegedly, while the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was in place, said, “The CI present there should have left the dead body at the spot and conducted the inquest before moving it. That CI’s role should also come under investigation.”
“He is also at fault. How can he allow that? That is his duty. It is the responsibility of the IO (Investigating Officer) and the CI present to protect the scene of the offence. The CI failed in his duty.”
The notice says that the CM’s “statement falsely attributes investigative responsibilities to my client”.
The notice, citing AP Assembly records, stated that the chief minister, in July last year, falsely claimed that Sankaraiah was promoted from CI to DSP, and that his suspension was revoked, allegedly through misuse of power by the previous government.
Sankaraiah says his suspension was revoked in compliance with a 1994 Government Order and after two-and-a-half years “following due process of law”.
In March 2025, the notice says, quoting a report in Eenadu, the chief minister said, “Even though blood stains were visible, why didn’t the CI report it? He remained silent.”
Describing the comments “as patently false and misleading”, the notice says that “no such omission is attributed to my client in the official CBI charge-sheet”.
The latest instance of the CM’s remarks on Sankaraiah, cited from Eenadu and Andhra Jyothy reports dated 17 September, came from the Collectors and SPs review meeting that Naidu held in Amaravati last week.
Naidu allegedly said, “In Viveka’s murder case, one CI washing away blood stains is atrocious. Destroying the crime scene is a crime.”
The notice termed the remark false and defamatory, and said it was unsupported by the CВI charge-sheet, while presenting what it called “the factual position/clarification”.
The notice also accuses Naidu of violating the Model Code of Conduct and breaching A.P. Legislative Assembly rules.
In June this year, Sankaraiah submitted a representation to the assembly speaker regarding the “repeated defamatory statements made against him in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly by Chandrababu Naidu” while he was cited merely as a witness in the CBI charge-sheet and “never arraigned as an accused”.
Sankaraiah’s fresh notice to the chief minister further states that Naidu’s “repeated attacks are driven by malice, especially since, during your tenure (2014-2019), Personal Security Officers of Dr. Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy were arbitrarily withdrawn, despite the known factional violence in Pulivendula”.
“After his murder, you attempted to conceal your government’s role in the withdrawal of security and diverted blame by targeting my client. You convened a special press conference (15.03.2019) to mislead the media, evade accountability, and falsely implicate my client. Further, you instigated repeated suspensions, ex parte inquiries, and transfers against my client, with the clear intention of coercion and harassment.”
Sankaraiah is currently attached to the Vacancy Reserve of Kurnool Range.
Political reactions
Senior TDP leader Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy said that the police inspector’s notice to the chief minister “is politically motivated and supported, sponsored by the YSRCP, to divert attention from the actual case, i.e., Viveka’s murder”.
Manohar Reddy, head of the YSRCP’s legal cell, refuted the accusations, stating that “the notice was the CI’s personal decision and that the party has no association with the said officer”.
A senior police officer in the Kurnool range told ThePrint that Sankaraiah was damaging his remaining career of about 4-5 years with such a litigious approach.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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