Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur   

Murder suspect dies in custody, Sub-Inspector suspended

Staff Reporter

ANANTAPUR: S. Parameshwar Reddy (34), suspect in a murder case died under suspicious circumstances in the Nallacheruvu police station lock up in the district in the wee hours of Tuesday. He was taken to the Government Area Hospital at Kadiri around 3 a.m., where the duty doctors declared him “brought dead”. The family members and relatives of the deceased and villagers alleged that Reddy died due to torture in the police custody. They staged a ‘rasta roko’ on the NH-205, which passes through Nallacheruvu, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. demanding booking of murder cases against Kadiri Rural CI Laxminarayana, Nallacheruvu SI M. Devanand and ASI Chenna Basappa and their removal from service.

However, Superintendent of Police M.S. Raveendra and Officer on Special Duty told reporters that preliminary inquiry into the death had revealed that Reddy had committed suicide by hanging himself to the ceiling using a ‘dhoti’. The SI had been placed under suspension to enable a fair inquiry into the death, the SP said.

In the inquest conducted by Penukonda RDO S.V. Nageswara Rao, he found injuries near the eyes, broken left arm and swelling on the feet. Parameshwar Reddy’s father Gopal Reddy and relative Eeswar Reddy charged the police with torturing him in the custody for more than three days. “Parameshwar Reddy was allegedly picked up by the police on June 23 in connection with the murder of one Shankar of the same village on June 4.

On the information ‘collected’ from him during the interrogation the police had summoned another 10 in the same case and left them after questioning. The SP also stated that a case of suspicious death was registered all those facing allegations of involvement in the death would be probed and no guilty would be spared. The post mortem report would reveal all facts about the death, he said.

The Penukonda RDO also recorded the statements on victims family members, relatives, SI and CI on the death.

Meanwhile, the victim’s father sent a telegram to the AP Human Rights Commission and Chief Justice of High Court alleging that his son was killed by the police in custody. The SP, OSD, DSPs of Dharmavaram and Puttaparthi and the RDO visited Nallacheruvu police station, where the alleged custodial death has occurred.

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