Former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy
Credit: PTI Photo
Guntur (Andhra Pradesh): Andhra Pradesh police registered an "attempt to murder" case against former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, two senior IPS officers and two retired officials, following a complaint lodged by a TDP MLA, an official said on Friday.
The complaint was lodged by the ruling party's Undi MLA K Raghurama Krishna Raju.
Besides Reddy, police booked senior IPS officers P V Sunil Kumar and PSR Sitaramanjaneyulu and retired police officer R Vijay Paul and former Guntur Government General Hospital superintendent G Prabhavati, the official said. Vijay Paul and Prabhavati have superannuated.
"Raju sent his police complaint through mail one month ago and after taking legal opinion, I registered a case at 7 pm on Thursday against the former CM and others," the official told PTI. Raju, a former MP, also alleged that he was subjected to "custodial torture," the official added.
Police booked the five accused persons under IPC Sections 120 B, 166, 167, 197, 307, 326, 465 and 506 read with 34. Police invoked the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as the case is three years old.
The case was booked at Nagarampalem police station in Guntur.
TDP leader Raju's 2021 arrest case came to the fore in Andhra Pradesh after he lodged a complaint against Reddy and some officials over it on June 10.
He accused the former CM and the senior officials of "plotting" a criminal "conspiracy" against him.
Raju, 62, alleged in his complaint that senior IPS officers Sunil Kumar and Sitaramanjaneyulu, police officer Vijaya Paul and government doctor Prabhavathi were part of that "conspiracy."
He was arrested in May, 2021 in the middle of the Covid-19 second wave.
"A false case was registered against me by the CB-CID of the Andhra Pradesh government. On May 14, 2021, I was arrested without due process, I was bullied, unlawfully physically pulled inside the police vehicle, and forcibly taken to Guntur the same night," Raju alleged in the complaint.
When Raju was arrested, Kumar was heading the CID, Sitaramanjaneyulu the Intelligence wing, Paul was ASP CID and Reddy was the CM.
The MLA said though he had undergone an open heart surgery "some weeks" before his arrest, Raju claimed he was abused. Also, he alleged there were threats to kill him for "criticising the chief minister (Jagan)."
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh police has registered a criminal case against former chief minister and YSRCP supremo YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, two senior IPS officials, and others, which includes charges of attempted murder.
Former CID chief PV Sunil Kumar and former state intelligence chief PSR Anjaneyulu were named as accused numbers one and two, while Jagan has been named as accused number three.
Guntur police registered an FIR late on Thursday evening based on the complaint lodged by TDP MLA, and the then Narasapur MP K Raghurama Krishna Raju, alleging custodial torture during his arrest in 2021 by these IPS officers at the behest of Jagan.
In May 2021, CID filed a case against Raghurama Raju, who was then an MP representing the ruling party, the YSRCP, and arrested him. At that time, the YSRCP alleged that Raju made daily inflammatory and violence-inciting statements while being an MP. Following that, Raju filed a petition in the AP High Court claiming custodial violence.
In his complaint, Raju said that the CID officers, after arresting him, had not produced him before the local magistrate in Hyderabad, had not obtained a transit arrest warrant, and had shifted him to the CBCID Office in Guntur.
“Then certain police officers, i.e. PV Sunil Kumar IPS, the then DG of CBCID, along with Seetharamanjaneyulu IPS and other police subordinates, came into the CBCID office and beat him with a rubber belt and lathi. He was even not allowed to take medicines in respect of his heart ailment, under the influence of Jagan Mohan Reddy, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Knowing pretty well that he has undergone bypass surgery to the heart, some persons sat on his chest, applied pressure, and thereby attempted to kill him. In the meantime, his phone was taken, and he was beaten till he disclosed the password to the device," said police in the FIR.
The FIR further read that later, Raju was shifted to the government general hospital, and the doctor Prabhavathi, who treated him, issued false medical certificates at the instance of police officials. Additionally, PV Sunil Kumar threatened him that he would be killed if he were to criticise the then Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Apart from the stated allegations, police said the complainant Raju also noted so many serious, heinous nature allegations against several persons that are required to be investigated by the appropriate police authority.
Jagan and others have been booked under sections 120b, 166, 167, 197, 307, 326, 465, 506, and 34 of the IPC.
Reacting to the FIR, PV Sunil Kumar took to X and posted, "I leave it to your wisdom to understand how an FIR can be filed anew in a case that has already been dismissed by the Supreme Court after three years of proceedings.".
After he was arrested, Raju filed a petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court claiming custodial violence. The High Court ordered a board of doctors to conduct all tests and report whether he was tortured in custody. Dr. Prabhavathi, the in-charge of the Guntur Hospital, was directed to provide this report. Four doctors conducted all the tests, including X-rays and scans, and reported no injuries to the court.