Police investigation stalled in Sai Krishna’s custodial death case

Two months after the police took Gade Sai Krishna (25) into custody, the investigating officers are still groping in the dark regarding his illegal detention, torture, death and the tracing of his body.

On May 5, the Task Force and the Krishnalanka police of NTR Commissionerate took Sai Krishna into custody from Markapuram and brought him to Vijayawada. He was handed over to the Krishnalanka police the next day.

The victim’s mother, G. Vijaya Lakshmi, who reportedly went to the police station witnessed police torturing her son. She allegedly saw Sai Krishna crying in pain and urged that he be released.

“The Krishnalanka Station House Officer (SHO) S.S.V.V. Nagaraju asked me to prepare a garland to place it before Sai Krishna’s photograph, abused me, and sent me out of the station,” Ms. Vijaya Lakshmi alleged, adding that her son disappeared later.

“After making several visits to the police station, we lodged a complaint with NTR Police Commissioner S.V. Rajashekar Babu. As there was no response, we filed a Habeas Corpus petition in the AP High Court, which directed the police to produce Sai Krishna by June 15, but they failed to do so,” the victim’s family members claimed.

On June 19, the Krishnalanka police registered a case against the suspended Circle Inspector (CI) Nagaraju and others on charger of murder. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted on June 21 arrested the accused, Nagaraju, and four constables.

SIT grills officers, RMP, friends of accused

The SIT questioned Task Force Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, K. Latha Kumari, South Zone Assistant Commissioner of Police, K. Manasa, staff of Krishnalanka police, a rural medical practitioner (RMP) who reportedly treated Sai Krishna in the police station, and the friends of the accused.

The SIT, headed by IGP M. Ravi Prakash and his team, visited the police station, verified the records, general diary and noted that Sai Krishna was handed over to the police station at 7 a.m. on May 6.

The Second Additional Judicial First Class Magistrate Court ordered the preservation of the CCTV footages from May 1 to June 1, but the CCTV footages and hard discs were missing at the police station.

However, even after two months since the incident, the SIT officers are still in dark on the alleged custodial death and disappearance of Sai Krishna’s body. Investigating officers recorded the statements of the victim’s family members and the accused.

With the SIT seeking custody of the accused CI, the court granted eight days police custody to Nagaraju, from July 3 to 10. Investigating officers seized suspected material from Krishnalanka police station and recovered related documents.

Corroborating evidences

Meanwhile, the SIT officials are making efforts to corroborate the statements of the accused and the NTR Police Commissionerate officers, and verify seized material and the records confiscated from the police station.

Investigating officers were unclear why the Krishnalanka police allegedly used third-degree methods on Sai Krishna instead of producing him in the court, as a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) was pending against him.

Ms. Vijaya Lakshmi strongly condemned the statement of accused Nagaraju, who pretended ignorance regarding the illegal detention, custodial torture, murder, disappearance of the body of her son and destruction evidence in the case.