Visakhapatnam: Hours after stabbing YSRC supremo Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in the arm at the airport here, the accused Janipalli Srinivasa Rao on Thursday evening reportedly confessed to the police that he had carried out the attack to help the Opposition leader gain sympathy and support ahead of the 2019 elections.
Srinivasa Rao in his statement to police said his family members were supporters of the late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy. “We expected that Jagan would become Chief Minister in 2014 we were very disappointed when the YSRC was defeated. I attacked Jagan thinking that the YSRC would win more seats due to the sympathy.” Srinivasa Rao reportedly told the police.
When he joined Fusion Foods restaurant in Visakhapatnam airport a year back, Srinivasa Rao expected a bright future. Instead he has been arrested for his attack on the YSR Congress chief.
The 35-year-old Srinivasa is a native of East Godavari district and a college drop-out. Sources in the police say he has no criminal history and is in fact an admirer of Jagan Mohan Reddy, and attacked him only to get some attention.
Sources in the police said that Srinivasa Rao was the younger son among six members of his family. He had used nine mobile phones within a short period and made over 10,000 phone calls in the past year.
The CISF personnel at the airport lounge seized a letter from the pocket of Srinivasa Rao. The first page said he was an ardent fan of Dr Rajasekhar Reddy. The letter said that due to the policies of the TD government, the people in Andhra Pradesh were being subjected to immense difficulties and hardships.
Under the TD regime, one section of people was enjoying the benefits of the government repeatedly.
The TD government was not thinking about the future generation, Srinivasa Rao purportedly wrote. The Chief Minister is running the government depending on middlemen and liquor traders. No one will face any hardship in the YSRC regime and the attack on Jagan is to alert the leader to lead the government in a perfect path, Srinivasa Rao reportedly wrote. The police are surprised that Srinivas entered the airport with the sharp-edged weapon.
