Attack on YS Jagan: NIA Court transfers case to Visakhapatnam

VIJAYAWADA: In a major development, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Vijayawada on Tuesday issued orders transferring the case of rooster knife attack on YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in Visakhapatnam to its counterpart in Visakhapatnam. The hearing on the petition was later adjourned to August 8, 2023.

Reacting to the NIA Court orders, Srinivasa Rao’s lawyer, Gagan Sindhu, said that it was very unfortunate to transfer the case to NIA Court in Visakhapatnam after the completion of 80 percent of the arguments in the case in Vijayawada. “We are ready to produce our arguments in a full-fledged manner at any Court. Srinivasa Rao will not let go of the case easily. YS Jagan must appear before the Court and give his statement about the incident to get a conclusion in the case,” Gagan Sindhu said.

The accused, J Srinivasa Rao, allegedly attacked YSRCP chief YS Jagan, when he was in opposition, in the VIP lounge of the Visakhapatnam airport in 2018. Since then, the NIA Court in Vijayawada had been hearing the case. In May, 2019, the NIA Court sanctioned bail for Srinivasa Rao, which was later revoked by the Andhra Pradesh High Court in July, 2019.

Srinivasa Rao had been languishing in jail for five years in the case. On several occasions, Srinivasa Rao appealed to the NIA Court seeking relief for him in the case and even wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court urging him to release him from jail in July, 2023. So far, there had been no response from the Supreme Court and NIA Court in Vijayawada in this regard.

At the same time, the counsel for Jagan Mohan Reddy sought time to present his arguments. However, YS Jagan had never appeared before the NIA Court to provide his statement in the case.