YS Viveka Murder: Ajeya Kallam tells High Court CBI doctored his statement

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Government’s Principal Adviser Ajeya Kallam, filed a writ petition in the Telangana High Court on Saturday, urging the Court to strike down the false statements incorporated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in his name in the chargesheet in connection with the murder case of YS Vivekananda Reddy.

The CBI recorded the statement of the retired IAS officer on April 29, but allegedly attributed several issues that he never made during the recording of the statement in the final report.

Describing the events that unfolded on the morning of March 15, 2019, of that day, Ajeya Kallam said that he was present at the Chief Minister’s residence around 5 am for a meeting of the manifesto committee. He recalled that within one and a half hours someone knocked on the door and OSD Krishna Mohan Reddy went out and returned.

The OSD told something to YS Jagan Mohan Reddy who stood up in shock and declared that his paternal uncle YS Vivevkananda Reddy died. Ajeya Kallam said that he repeated the same in his sworn-in statement with the CBI. He expressed dismay over the false and cooked-up details mentioned in the chargesheet attributed to him by the investigating agency.

“Further, I had not stated anything about Jagan Mohan Reddy being called for by his spouse and I submit that, unfortunately, what I had stated was not accurately recorded by the CBI and the version as recorded by the CBI is entirely false and it has the tendency to prejudice the investigation and falsely implicate several individuals,” Ajeya Kallam said in his petition.

He mentioned that one of the tenets of fair and proper investigation was that the investigation should be unbiased and honest and in accordance with law. “It is submitted that there is a bounden duty upon the investigating officer under Section 161 of CrPC to make a true record of an examination conducted thereunder,” he added.

He added that the record of his examination as filed by the CBI along with the chargesheet on June 28, 2023 was entirely false with regard to certain details and the recording of his statement inaccurately clearly showed that the investigation in this aspect was dishonest and was not in accordance with law.

Not the same CBI officer

Ajeya Kallam in his petition said that the officer who had signed the statement was also not the officer who had examined him. It is further submitted that the Constitutional Courts have time and again held that the investigating officer should be fair and conscious so as to rule out any possibility of fabrication of evidence and his impartial conduct must dispel any suspicion as to its genuineness.

He pointed out that the true purpose of investigation was not to enable the Courts to record a conviction, but to bring out the real unvarnished truth. “The statement filed along with the charge sheet purported to be a true record of my examination under section 161 of CrPC is a false statement and has an effect of stifling fair investigation and has the potential to falsely implicate several individuals,” the petition said.