Date:28/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/28/stories/2008112860010600.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Keshava Rao’s son acquitted

Special Correspondent

Court finds Venkat not guilty of charge of shooting to death B. Prashant Reddy

K. Venkat says that truth revealed by the court judgement
Counsel for Prashant Reddy’s father blames police for failure to collect proper evidence

Acquitted: Venkat walking out of court with his lawyer in Hyderabad on Thursday.

HYDERABAD: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member K. Keshava Rao’s son Venkat was acquitted by a court here on Thursday on the charges of murder of the latter’s friend in September last year.

The court found Venkat not guilty of the charge of shooting to death B. Prashant Reddy and ordered return of the firearm licence and an airgun recovered from him.

The incident, which occurred at Venkat’s residence in Jubilee Hills, had raised a storm resulting in Mr. Keshava Rao stepping down as the president of the AP Congress Committee (APCC). Emerging from the court hall of the Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge L. Ravi Babu at the Nampally courts complex, Venkat told mediapersons that the truth was revealed by the judgement. Venkat’s lawyer, C. Mallesh Rao, said he had argued from day one that an illegal case was made out against his client to harass the family of Mr. Keshava Rao since his political career was in the upswing.

Mr. Mallesh Rao said Prashant Reddy had suffered a bullet injury in the temple due to “misfire” from a weapon in his hand.

Venkat shifted the injured to hospital in his car unmindful of the consequences that could follow. The report of the Forensic Science Laboratory confirmed that the victim fired at himself. “My client is innocent,” he remarked.

N. Ramchander Rao, counsel for Prashant Reddy’s father Raghavender Reddy, said his client had sought time to make up his mind whether to appeal against the judgement.

He blamed the police, represented by the Crime Investigation Department (CID), for failure to collect proper evidence which led to the acquittal of the accused.

The CID did not investigate the case seriously, he alleged.

The court permitted Mr. Ramchander Rao to assist the prosecution since the family of Prashant Reddy expressed apprehensions that the case could be hushed up at the instance of Mr. Keshava Rao.

The investigation which was carried out under the supervision of senior police officers took several curious turns, including the transfer of a CID Deputy Superintendent of Police who was in-charge of the probe.

There was also a controversy over contradictory findings by two different doctors in post-mortem examination.