The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Andhra Pradesh police has confirmed that 25-year-old Gade Sai Krishna died in police custody at Krishna Lanka police station in the first week of May.
The SIT, led by inspector general of police M Ravi Prakash, arrested suspended Krishna Lanka police inspector S S V V Nagaraju on Tuesday and produced him before the Second Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Vijayawada, on Wednesday.
Nagaraju was remanded to 14 days of judicial custody until July 8 and was shifted to Rajamahendravaram Central Prison.
The SIT accused Nagaraju of illegal detention, wrongful confinement, murder, destruction of evidence, and suppression of material facts.
Investigators informed the court that available evidence pointed to a custodial death and that Sai Krishna's death was allegedly linked to injuries sustained while in police custody.
The SIT alleged that Sai Krishna was physically present at the police station after being brought there, but was not produced before the jurisdictional magistrate within the mandatory 24-hour period prescribed by law.
Sai Krishna's mother, Gade Vijayalakshmi, told investigators that she had seen him in the lock-up on May 8 in an unconscious state with visible injuries and his legs tied.
The SIT has relied on witness testimonies and other evidence to conclude that Sai Krishna remained in police custody between May 6 and May 8, during which period he is suspected to have been tortured and fatally injured.
Investigators alleged that after his death, efforts were made to conceal the crime, including the deliberate destruction of CCTV footage from Krishnalanka Police Station.
Nagaraju was booked under Section 103 (1) (murder), 127(4) (wrongful confinement for 10 days or more), 127(6) (wrongful confinement in secret) and Section 238 (suppression of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita.
