After spending almost seven months in remand, J. Srinivasa Rao, the prime accused in the attack on YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, was released on bail from the Rajahmundry Central Prison on Saturday.
The NIA court granted him bail on May 23. Srinivasa Rao allegedly attacked Mr. Reddy with a knife usually used in cockfights, in the VVIP lounge at the Visakhapatnam airport on October 25 last.
Even as the SIT that had been constituted by the TDP government was investigating the case, the NIA stepped in and took over the probe.
Interacting with the media after his release, Srinivasa Rao said, “I hail from an agricultural family. I know what kind of issues people face. I wrote them on a paper. Being a chef at a restaurant in the airport, I had a chance to meet Mr. Reddy on that day. I was carrying a small knife and a fork in my coat. As I went close to Mr. Reddy, the knife in the pocket pierced him. I really had no time to explain what happened, and I was booked.”
He also refuted the allegations made by the TDP that that YSRCP had orchestrated the incident.