The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Andhra Pradesh Police, probing the custodial death of 25-year-old Gadi Sai Krishna at Krishna Lanka police station in Vijayawada, on Wednesday arrested two more police personnel, taking the total number of arrests in the case to six, people familiar with the matter said.
According to a senior police official, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested Krishna Lanka Crime Police constables Babu Rao and Sampaya after interrogating them about their alleged role in the case.
“They were produced before the Second Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Vijayawada, which remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days. On the directions of the court, the accused were sent to jail,” the official said.
The court alleged that Babu Rao and Sambaiah replaced the hard disks of the CCTV cameras installed at the police station with different hard disks in an attempt to destroy evidence related to the case.
The SIT also informed the court that Sai Krishna’s body is yet to be found and the arrested accused are not cooperating with the investigation.
On Tuesday, police arrested two more personnel – Putharlanka police chief Ashok Kumar and Jangam Nani – and produced them before the court, which remanded them in custody for 14 days.
In its report submitted to the court, the SIT alleged that the two police chiefs failed to disclose the full facts and remained silent when questioned by the investigating officer.
“When they were asked to hand over the mobile phones they were using, the two claimed that they had sold the devices to unknown persons in Nagpur due to financial difficulties,” the court told the court.
Earlier, on June 27, the court had arrested Suresh, a close friend of Krishna Lanka Inspector SSVS Nagaraju, the prime accused in the case, who was suspended and later arrested for his alleged role in the custodial death.
The special court alleged that Suresh helped Nagaraju dispose of Sai Krishna’s body after the custodial death.
On Wednesday, the special court physically produced Nagaraju before the court while seeking 12 days of police custody for further questioning.
During the hearing, Nagaraju told the judge that he had been pressured to plead guilty and claimed that attempts had been made to falsely implicate him in the case.
Nagaraju said he fully cooperated with the SIT during the initial stages of the investigation and has already shared all available information. He stressed that he had no additional information to provide, and claimed that he had been made a scapegoat in the investigation.
The suspended officer also expressed concerns about his safety, telling the court that his life was threatened while in custody. After taking into consideration his allegations, the judge asked Nagaraju to submit his allegations and objections in the form of an affidavit.
