Suspended SHO sent to judicial custody in Vijayawada lock-up death case

Vijayawada, June 24 (IANS) A city court on Wednesday remanded suspended police officer S.S.V.V. Nagaraju to judicial custody for 14 days in the alleged custodial death of Gade Sai Krishna (25).

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which arrested Nagaraju on Tuesday, produced him before the court, which sent him to judicial remand till July 8.

Nagaraju was Circle Inspector (Station House Officer) of Krishnalanka police station, where Sai Krishna allegedly died in custody.

The SIT revealed some key information relating to the case in the remand report submitted to the court on Wednesday.

The investigation team stated that Sai Krishna died of the injuries inflicted on him in custody. The court was also told that the CCTV footage at the police station was deliberately deleted.

Sai Krishna, who had some cases and non-bailable warrants pending against him, was picked up on May 6 at Markapuram and was shifted to Krishnalanka police station. He was kept in illegal custody, and he subsequently disappeared, the SIT said.

The court was informed that a sub-inspector saw Sai Krishna in the police station between May 6 and May 8. Sai Krishna’s mother, Vijaya Lakshmi, said she saw him in an unconscious condition in the police station.

The SIT did not find CCTV footage of the police station from May 1 to June 1. The court was also told that though Sai Krishna handed over his phone to Nagaraju after he was brought to the police station, the SHO did not deposit it with the magistrate.

The court was informed that to hide the lock-up death, Sai Krishna’s body was taken to an undisclosed location. Attempts were made to bury or burn the body. The SIT stated that it was investigating to ascertain where the body was disposed of.

The SIT also said in the remand report that the suspended SHO was not cooperating with the investigation and was trying to mislead them by providing wrong information.

The SIT, headed by Inspector General (Law and Order) M. Ravi Prakash, comprises West Godavari Superintendent of Police Adnan Nayeem Asmi, Alluri Sitharamaraju SP Amit Bardar, as members and Bapatla district Additional SP L. Sudhakar as the investigation officer.

The SIT is probing the allegations of wrongful confinement, murder and causing the disappearance of evidence against the suspended SHO.

A case was registered on June 19 under sections 127 (4), 127 (6), 103 (1) and 238 of Bharat Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on a complaint by Sai Krishna’s mother Vijaya Lakshmi, who alleged that her son was tortured and beaten to death in custody.

She filed a Habeas Corpus petition in the High Court, which directed the Krishna Lanka police to produce the victim before it on June 15. As the police could not produce Sai Krishna, the High Court directed the police to produce him by June 29.

–IANS

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