Visakhapatnam airport attack case: NIA court asks YS Jagan to appear before it on April 10

VIAJAYAWADA: An NIA court in Vijayawada on Tuesday directed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy to appear before it on April 10, 2023 for deposition in the sensational rooster knife (Kodi kathi) attack case. An attempt was made on the life of YS Jagan inside the Visakhapatnam airport in October 2018 when he was in opposition. He survived the attack with a minor stab injury on one of his shoulders.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court here also asked YS Jagan’s personal assistant Nageswara Reddy to appear before it on April 10.

The NIA court issued similar directions in January 2023 while dismissing a bail petition filed by accused J Srinivasa Rao. The accused has been in jail since his arrest soon after the attack inside the Visakhapatnam airport in 2018. During one of the earlier hearings, the advocate for the accused questioned as to why the victim in the case, YS Jagan, was not questioned so far. To this the NIA counsel responded, saying that the statement of the victim had already been recorded.

Intervening at this juncture, the judge of the NIA court wondered why the recording of the victim’s statement was not mentioned in the chargesheet. The court also felt that it would be pointless to question all the witnesses while leaving aside the victim. The NIA court ruled that all those concerned with the case including the victim should appear before it next time without fail.