Suspended CI Nagaraju Booked Under SC/ST Act Over Dalit Youth Suicide Case
AP police booked Nagaraju under sections related to abetment of suicide, along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Police on Monday booked suspended CI SSVV Nagaraju in another case under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act related to the suicide of a Dalit youth, Perupogu Kranthi Kumar, who in a self-recorded video statement accused the then CI of Krishna Lanka Police Station, Nagaraju, of harassing him and driving him to take his life.
Kranthi Kumar reportedly died on May 21st, and the video surfaced online after Nagaraju's arrest in June in connection with the disappearance and alleged custodial torture and murder of 25-year-old Gade Sai Krishna. A fresh FIR was registered following an inquiry by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), NTR North Division, Satyanand, into the circumstances surrounding Kranthi Kumar’s death after his family members filed a complaint.
The police have examined the video recorded by Kranthi Kumar and sent his mobile phone for forensic examination.
Perupogu Venkateswara Rao Madiga, the father of the deceased, who is the AP MRPS State President, had earlier appealed to AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan to order an inquiry and take action against the former CI, alleging that his son committed suicide due to Nagaraju’s harassment and that the negligence showed caste-based discrimination by the AP government.
Based on the findings, police booked Nagaraju under sections related to abetment of suicide, along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. CI Nagaraju is currently lodged in Rajahmundry Central Jail, and an investigation related to Gade Sai Krishna is currently underway.
