Police Probing Stone Attack On Andhra Chief Minister As Attempt To Murder

The Vijayawada police have rounded up at least four suspects for allegedly throwing stones at Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and will treat it as an "attempt to murder", an official said today.

Unidentified people threw stones at the Chief Minister last night near Vivekananda School Centre in Vijayawada's Singh Nagar. He suffered injuries to his left temple as he canvassed for polls.

Vijayawada Police Commissioner Kanthi Ratan Tata said an attempt to murder charge has been filed under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

"We have identified some suspects. We are interrogating them and that process is going on now. A case has been registered under IPC Section 307," Mr Tata said.

Further, he highlighted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed with six officers and four policemen, who are scrutinising the video footage and technical data to identify the accused.

According to Mr Tata, a stone first hit the Chief Minister and then former minister and YSRCP leader V Srinivas, who stood next to him.

The police commissioner said all the suspects were locals and exuded confidence that the real culprits could be identified in a few days.

On Sunday, the YSRCP and TDP leaders engaged in a war of words over this incident.

YSRCP General Secretary S Ramakrishna Reddy claimed that the attack was a premeditated cold-blooded one.

"Who would have planned such an attempt? It stems from the insecurity that the TDP is experiencing as they are witnessing the response our leader is getting through the poll campaign, through the roadshows and 'siddham sabhas' (meetings)," he said, addressing a press conference.

Ramakrishna Reddy alleged that TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu recently instigated a crowd in his 'prajagalam' (canvassing) meetings to attack Jagan Reddy and claimed that Mr Naidu and his party would benefit if the YSRCP chief could not meet the masses.

"This leads us to presume that the TDP and their leader (Naidu) are responsible for the attack," he said, adding that the injury is a fact and location sensitive.

Further, he claimed that the opposition party is trying to downplay the incident due to the "fear of exposure" and also resorting to making inhumane comments.

Meanwhile, YSRCP Nellore Lok Sabha candidate V Vijayasai Reddy alleged that Naidu "never engaged in politics believing in development".

"It has been proven again that he (Naidu) engages in cowardly politics, believing in violence and conspiracies," said Vijayasai Reddy in a post on social media platform X.

Ruling party leaders, ministers, and others castigated Mr Naidu and the TDP, claiming that the opposition party was involved in the attack on the CM.

Chandrababu Naidu condemned the attack on Reddy.

"I strongly condemn the attack on Jagan. I request the Election Commission of India (ECI) to initiate an impartial and unbiased inquiry into the incident and punish the responsible officials," he said in a post on X.

However, the TDP alleged that the attack on Jagan Mohan Reddy was stage-managed.

Backing Chandrababu Naidu's appeal to the Election Commission to undertake an impartial and unbiased probe into the attack, TDP spokesperson Pattabhiram Kommareddy questioned the timing and circumstances of the attack.

"It only tends to raise a question about the validity of an act like this when it is so coincidental, yet in sync. It wouldn't be the first time that the YSRCP has staged such an act, much like the infamous 'kodi kathi' drama, not only for sympathy but to also create confusion and unrest, right when the elections are around the corner," Mr Kommareddy alleged.

Condemning the attack, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President YS Sharmila said she believes it was an accident. However, if it was not so, she said, everybody should condemn it.

Ms Sharmila said she is praying to God for the quick recovery of her elder brother.

Meanwhile, a delegation of YSRCP leaders lodged a complaint with the Election Commission over the incident, alleging that the attack was executed to "murder" the Chief Minister.

Jagan Reddy is unperturbed by the attack, said Ramakrishna Reddy. He paused his bus tour on Sunday to rest and is expected to resume it tomorrow from Kesarapalle in the NTR District.

Elections for the 175-member Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled on May 13 and the counting of votes will be held on June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)