Police personnel wait outside the house of Gade Sai Krishna, where the Special Investigation Team (SIT) records the statement of his mother, in Vijayawada on Monday.
| Photo Credit: G.N. Rao
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Inspector General of Police M. Ravi Prakash, met the family of Gade Sai Krishna and recorded the statement of his mother, G. Vijaya Lakshmi, at their residence in Krishnalanka on Monday (June 22, 2026).
Ms. Vijaya Lakshmi explained how her son had gone missing since May 9, after the police allegedly took him into custody. The family has alleged that he was tortured and died in police custody, and that his body was disposed of.
The police arranged tight security in Krishnalanka in view of the probe.
Residents of Krishnalanka staged a protest on the National Highway in support of the suspended Circle Inspector, S.S.V.V. Nagaraju. Traffic on the highway was held up for some time because of the protest.
The case so far
Sai Krishna’s mother moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court with a habeas corpus petition; the court directed the Krishnalanka police to produce him by June 15 and, when they did not, by June 29.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the case on June 18 and ordered the suspension of Mr. Nagaraju and the registration of cases against him; he met Ms. Vijaya Lakshmi on June 19. The same day, the NTR police booked Mr. Nagaraju under Sections 103(1) (murder) and 127(4) (wrongful confinement) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
On June 20, police and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) teams examined the Krishnalanka police station and the Swargapuri burial ground, scrutinised CCTV footage, checked cremation registers and records of unclaimed bodies, and seized mobile phones and records.
The State government constituted the four-member team on June 21, taking it out of the NTR Commissionerate’s control for an impartial probe. Its other members are West Godavari Superintendent of Police Adnan Naveen Asmi, Alluri Sitharama Raju district SP Amit Bardar and Bapatla Additional SP (Administration) L. Sudhakar. The team can draw technical and forensic support under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
It was the second allegation of harassment against the same Circle Inspector. Perupogu Kranthi Kumar died last month, and his family alleged that persistent harassment by Mr. Nagaraju drove him to take his life; the police registered a case under Section 194 of the BNSS.
Published – June 22, 2026 02:45 pm IST
