The whereabouts of a 25-year-old man belonging to Vijayawada town in Andhra Pradesh remains unknown after nearly 40 days, even as his family members claim that police may have killed him through torture in custody, while the opposition YSR Congress party has demanded a CBI probe into the incident.
As the case started escalating into a major controversy, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday night ordered a thorough investigation by senior IPS officer and East Godavari Superintendent of Police Narasimha Kishore, besides suspending Krishna Lanka Police Inspector SS V Nagaraju.
An official statement issued by the CMO said that the government took the disappearance of Jad Sai Krishna seriously. “The Chief Minister ordered the suspension of Inspector Nagaraju from the police station concerned in this matter,” the statement read.
On Thursday, the investigating officer visited Krishna Lanka police station and inquired about the entire case. “Narasimha Kishor has collected crucial evidence and will submit a report to the government soon,” an official familiar with the matter said.
Sai Krishna’s mother, Jade Vijayalakshmi, told reporters that her son was arrested by Krishna Lanka police from the NTR area of Markapuram in Prakasam district on May 9 and he has been missing since then.
“I spent weeks contacting several police officers in Vijayawada seeking information. Despite repeated visits to police stations, I was unable to get any clarification regarding my son’s whereabouts,” she said.
With no response, she approached the High Court through a habeas corpus petition on June 4 seeking directions to trace her son and produce him before the court or his remains, if he is no longer alive.
Thereafter, the Supreme Court directed the Krishna Lanka Police Inspector to locate Sai Krishna and produce him before the concerned court by June 15. “When the case came up for hearing again on June 15, the state government’s counsel informed the Supreme Court that Sai Krishna’s whereabouts were unknown and steps had been taken to trace him and produce him before the court,” Vijayalakshmi said.
The government then asked for two weeks to confirm Sai Krishna’s whereabouts, a request the court accepted, and the authorities ordered him to be produced on June 29.
Vijayalakshmi suspected that the police might have killed her son by torture in custody and the police were deliberately concealing the facts. “Show me my son, or at least his ashes,” she demanded.
She alleged that the police were trying to portray her son as a repeat offender facing investigation in various cases. “It is a false allegation. Let them file an FIR against him,” she said.
On Thursday, YSR Congress leader and former Prime Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy visited Sai Krishna’s residence in Krishna Lanka.
Speaking to reporters later, Jagan said the incident exposed the alarming law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh. He demanded that “stopping the inspector alone is not enough. Murder charges must be brought against all those involved.”
Jagan alleged that officials at various levels failed to act despite complaints and warning signs. The Central Bank of Iraq called for an investigation into the incident. “Only an independent investigation can reveal the full truth, identify all those involved, and establish accountability,” he said.
