Police Went Easy on Sanjush in Fatal Crash
Cyberabad police were already under attack for concealing the case and identity of the accused by writing only his first name
HYDERABAD: In a glaring display of favouritism, Cyberabad police have not only let off Lingamaneni Sanjush, son of Jana Sena Rajya Sabha member Lingamaneni Ramesh, on station bail after his alleged rash driving claimed the life of a woman, but also clamped less serious sections against him in sharp contrast to their own stringent action in similar incidents earlier.
The same Madhapur police, under whose jurisdiction Sanjush caused the accident, had previously arrested drivers involved in fatal crashes and booked them under culpable homicide not amounting to murder. In Sanjush’s case, however, the FIR was registered under Section 106(1) of the BNS for rash and negligent driving. “This was apparently done to grant station bail because punishment under this section is less than five years and arrest is not mandatory,” a senior police official said. Section 105 of the BNS, by contrast, attracts life imprisonment or 10 years and is non-bailable.
Cyberabad police were already under attack for concealing the case and identity of the accused by writing only his first name. Contrary to claims that Sanjush voluntarily took the victim to hospital, police found he was stopped by passersby and forced to take her there, before fleeing. Kukatpally DCP Riti Raj and Madhapur inspector K.V. Subba Rao maintained that the accused was apprehended from his residence.
Inquiries by Deccan Chronicle revealed stark contrasts. In 2020, a high-end car killed pedestrian Paleti Yesu in Madhapur. The driver, Naveen Kumar, was booked under Section 304-II IPC and arrested, with the case charge-sheeted within six months. Another 2020 crash at Cyber Towers Junction killed Gutham Dev and injured his wife; driver Kashi Vishwanath was tracked to a hotel and remanded under Sections 304-II and 337 IPC. In 2021, an Audi rammed an autorickshaw near Inorbit Mall, killing passenger Umesh Kumar. Police booked the case under Sections 304-II, 201, 337 and 506 read with 109 IPC, besides Motor Vehicles Act provisions, after finding the occupants drunk and attempting to remove number plates.
