Hyderabad The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Andhra Pradesh Police probing the case of the mysterious disappearance of 25-year-old Jay Sai Krishna in Vijayawada announced on Wednesday that he was detained illegally and died while in police custody at Krishna Lanka Police Station in the first week of May.
The special court, headed by Inspector General of Police M Ravi Prakash, which arrested the suspended Krishna Lanka Police Inspector on Tuesday, referred him before Additional Judicial Magistrate II First Class, Vijayawada, on Wednesday.
The court remanded Nagaraju in judicial custody for 14 days till July 8, and in the evening he was transferred to Rajamahndravaram Central Jail.
In the remand report submitted to the court and seen by H.T., the investigating officer of the special court accused Nagaraju of illegal detention, wrongful confinement, murder, destruction of evidence and suppression of material facts. Investigators informed the court that available evidence pointed to death in custody and that Sai Krishna’s death was linked to injuries he sustained while in police custody.
According to the Special Investigation Team, Sai Krishna, who had two non-bailable warrants against him in earlier cases, was arrested by the Vijayawada City Police team near Markapuram in the early hours of May 6, and was brought to Krishna Lanka Police Station on the same day.
The remand report, citing several witnesses, confirmed that Sai Krishna was physically present at the police station after he was brought there. “Though Nagaraju detained Sai Krishna on May 6 itself, he was not produced before the judicial magistrate within the mandatory 24-hour period prescribed by law,” she said, adding that no legal explanation was given for this failure, further strengthening the allegations of illegal detention.
Sai Krishna’s mother, Jad Vijayalakshmi, also told investigators that she saw him in jail on May 8 in an unconscious state with visible injuries and his legs tied. According to her statement, she also heard his screams during his detention and repeatedly pleaded with police officials, including Nagaraju, to release him.
She later filed with the state Supreme Court through a habeas corpus petition requesting that her son appear in court.
The Special Court relied on witness testimonies and other evidence to find that Sai Krishna remained in police custody between 6 and 8 May, during which time he is suspected of being tortured and fatally injured. Investigators claimed that after his death, efforts were made to cover up the crime.
A key aspect of the investigation relates to missing CCTV footage from Krishnalanka police station. Staff from the Andhra Pradesh State Forensic Science Laboratory visited the station on June 19 to retrieve the footage from the digital video recorder (DVR) system.
However, investigators found that no recordings were available between May 1 and June 1 — a period that coincides with the alleged illegal arrest and disappearance of Sai Krishna. The Special Court considers the absence of footage very significant and suspects the deliberate destruction of evidence.
The remand report further alleged that Nagaraju concealed important information from the Andhra Pradesh High Court. After filing the habeas corpus petition, Nagaraju reportedly submitted written instructions to the court stating that the police were making efforts to trace Sai Krishna.
However, investigators alleged that he failed to disclose that Sai Krishna had already been arrested near Markapuram and brought to Krishnalanka police station under police custody.
According to the Special Investigation Team, this amounts to deliberate concealment of material facts and an attempt to mislead the Supreme Court regarding the circumstances surrounding Sai Krishna’s disappearance. Investigators stated that the failure to disclose his detention status, coupled with the loss of CCTV footage and witness statements, indicated a coordinated effort to hide the truth.
The special court also alleged that Sai Krishna’s body was disposed of after his death in an attempt to destroy evidence. Vijayalakshmi told investigators that police personnel allegedly burned the body beyond recognition. The SIT noted that Sai Krishna’s body has not yet been found and Nagaraju has not cooperated with efforts to determine his whereabouts.
The special court in its report stated that the circumstances surrounding Sai Krishna’s arrest, his continued presence in police custody, the injuries observed on his body, his failure to produce him before a magistrate, the concealment of facts before the Supreme Court, the disappearance of CCTV footage, and the inability of the accused to explain the whereabouts of the victim, all create a strong prima facie inference that Sai Krishna died after sustaining fatal injuries while in police custody.
According to the FIR, Nagaraju has been booked under Sections 103(1) (murder), 127(4) (unlawful confinement for 10 days or more), 127(6) (unlawful confinement in secret) and Section 238 (suppression of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita.
