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The Andhra Pradesh police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the alleged custodial torture and death of 25-year-old Gade Sai Krishna at the Krishnalanka police station in Vijayawada, has concluded that he died from injuries sustained during severe beatings by police personnel.
The SIT has also alleged that the then Krishnalanka Circle Inspector, SSVV Nagaraju, the key accused in the case, directed his subordinates to conceal the death and later helped burn Sai Krishna’s body at a crematorium. The findings are part of the remand report submitted after the arrest of Gulivindala Suresh, the fourth accused in the case.
According to the report, Sai Krishna was tortured by Nagaraju, Head Constable Ashok, and Constable Nani on May 7. He was subsequently moved, on Nagaraju’s instructions, to an abandoned building at Ranigari Thota after sustaining serious injuries.
Suresh, who was allegedly closely associated with Nagaraju and worked as his personal assistant, told investigators that when he visited the building on May 12, Sai Krishna was in a severely injured condition. The report states that Sai Krishna told Suresh that the police were torturing him with the intention of killing him. He subsequently lost consciousness and died while speaking to Suresh, the SIT alleged.
The report says that around midnight on May 12-13, Nagaraju, Ashok, and Suresh wrapped the body in a blanket, transported it on a motorcycle, and took it to the Swargapuri crematorium in Vijayawada. The three allegedly remained there until the body was reduced to ashes. Suresh is also alleged to have returned to the crematorium on May 18 to check for any remaining traces.
The SIT said the accused took several steps to destroy evidence, including allegedly damaging CCTV cameras and eliminating forensic traces. Krishnalanka police Head Constable Satyanarayana is also accused of deleting photographs taken while Sai Krishna was in police custody.
The team has also identified the abandoned building where Sai Krishna was allegedly kept, though the remand report says physical evidence was removed on Nagaraju’s instructions.
Sai Krishna, a resident of Markapuram and a food-delivery worker, had been picked up by the Krishnalanka police on May 6. His mother, Gade Vijayalakshmi, later complained about his alleged wrongful confinement and death, following which a case was registered against Nagaraju in June.
Nagaraju was arrested on June 23. The SIT has since arrested several other accused, including police personnel, a home guard, and a medical practitioner. Suresh had initially been questioned but allegedly went into hiding. The SIT began steps to issue a Look Out Circular and circulated an alert to trace him. He surrendered before the investigating team on September 17.
The SIT has sought 15 days’ custody of Suresh for further questioning.