Two days after a video of Vijayawada resident Perupogu Kranthi Kumar accusing Circle Inspector (CI) Nagaraju of driving him to suicide went viral, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on Saturday, June 20, met the deceased’s family and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into his death.
Kranthi was the son of Andhra Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) president Perupogu Venkateswara Rao. On May 21, Kranthi recorded a video announcing his intention to die by suicide, stating that he could no longer bear the alleged harassment by Krishna Lanka police station Circle Inspector Nagaraju.
The video began circulating on June 18, the same day Nagaraju was suspended in connection with the disappearance of another man, Gade Sai Krishna. In the video, the 42-year-old Kranthi is seen consuming purple-coloured granules.
“CI Nagaraju is responsible for my death. My only mistake was that I was born into the Madiga community. I am being hunted and have been beaten for the past three months. I cannot live anymore,” Kranthi says in the video before consuming the granules.
A case was registered against the suspended CI based on a complaint filed by Sai Krishna’s mother, Gade Vijaya Lakshmi. Sai Krishna had been missing for more than a month before the complaint was filed, and police suspect he was murdered.
The case has been registered under Sections 127(4) and 127(6) (wrongful confinement), 103(1) (murder), and 238 (destruction of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Vijaya Lakshmi alleged that her son was tortured and beaten to death in custody. She demanded that the Andhra Pradesh government order a judicial inquiry into the incident and take action against all those responsible.
On June 17, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu ordered an inquiry by a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer into the case. He also directed the suspension of Circle Inspector Nagaraju.
