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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has sought another look by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the 2017 rape and murder case of a 15-year-old Dalit girl in Kurnool. He instructed senior police officers to write to the CBI Director immediately, seeking a comprehensive investigation.
The decision to redirect the probe to CBI came after the victim’s mother accused Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan of not keeping his promise of delivering justice to her daughter. Pawan Kalyan has, on several occasions, demanded justice for the deceased and even made it a part of his election plank. In a February 2020 Jana Sena rally, the deceased’s mother had openly expressed her admiration for Pawan Kalyan and stated that she was grateful for all the support he had given. Even in July 2024, her parents met with Deputy CM Pawan, expressing concern that the investigation had not progressed.
It is worth noting that the CBI has earlier expressed its reluctance to take up the case. In February 2025, the CBI had moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court to dismiss the investigation from its purview. In a written submission, CBI Superintendent A Raghuram Rajan stated that the “agency is dealing with several other important cases.”
The 15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and killed on the premises of a residential school near Kurnool on August 19, 2017. Her body was found under mysterious circumstances in her hostel room. The case was initially probed by a Special Investigation Team. It was handed over to the CBI in 2020 by the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government after her family and rights groups alleged that there was no progress despite scientific evidence of sexual assault.