After post-mortem in the local Government hospital, police confirmed the case was altered to Section 302 IPC that relates to murder. Two days ago, he was seen at the Lotus Pond residence of Jagan Mohan Reddy in Hyderabad and on Thursday campaigned for the YSRC in Kadapa district. He was reportedly alone at his residence in Pulivendula on Thursday night.

“There was no response when I went to his house this morning. I called his wife in Hyderabad over phone and she asked me not to disturb him. Later, the cook and other household staff reached the house but they too did not get any response. I then went in through a side door and found Vivekananda’s body in the bathroom, with blood clots in the bedroom and the bathroom. There were several injuries on his body,” Vivekananda’s personal assistant M V Krishna Reddy said. He lodged a complaint with police, based on which the FIR was registered. The incident sparked a political slugfest between the Opposition YSR Congress and the ruling Telugu Desam Party with both trading allegations against each other.

Vivekananda Reddy’s party, YSR Congress, demanded a CBI probe into the case even as the State Government constituted a Special Investigation Team, headed by CID Additional Director General of Police Amit Garg, to probe the death. YSR Congress president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was responsible for the death of his uncle.

Lashing out at the YSRC chief, Naidu told a press meet later that the slain leaders family appeared ‘prima facie guilty’ as they not only tried to hide the murder but also destroy vital forensic evidence. The 68-year-old YSR Congress leader is survived by his wife and a daughter. Police said injuries were found on the forehead, head and back, besides on the hand and thigh.

“We have gathered some clues in the case. We are questioning the former minister’s household staff. Some fingerprints were also collected from the scene,” Kadapa District Superintendent of Police Rahul Dev Sharma said.