Published Jun 21, 2026 | 1:52 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 21, 2026 | 1:52 PM
Gade Sai Krishna (Credit: @revathitweets on X)
Synopsis: The Andhra Pradesh government constituted an SIT to probe the alleged custodial death of 25-year-old Gade Sai Krishna. The team has been authorised to exercise all investigative powers under all relevant laws in the course of the probe.
The Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday, 21 June, constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged custodial death of 25-year-old Gade Sai Krishna, a case that sent shockwaves across the country and raised questions about police accountability and the rule of law.
The order states that the government appointed an independent SIT led by Inspector General of Police (IGP) M Ravi Prakash and three other senior officers: West Godavari District Superintendent of Police (SP) Adnan Nayeem Asmi, Alluri Sitaramraju District SP Amit Bardar, and Baptala Additional SP L Sudhakar.
The team has been authorised to exercise all investigative powers under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNS) and other relevant laws in the course of the probe.
The government directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to provide the SIT with all necessary office space, infrastructure, and logistical support. All government departments, forensic agencies, and concerned authorities have been mandated to extend full cooperation.
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An FIR was registered at Krishnalanka Police Station against Circle Inspector (CI) SSVV Nagaraju, accused in the alleged custodial violence and disappearance of Sai Krishna, based on a complaint by his mother, Gade Vijaya Lakshmi.
The FIR was filed under Sections 127(4), 127(6), and 103(1) of the BNS, covering illegal detention, custodial torture and murder, as well as Section 238 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which deals with causing disappearance of evidence.
Vijayawada Police Commissioner Rajasekhar Babu accepted Vijaya Lakshmi’s grievance and ordered formal action. CI Nagaraju had already been suspended from the police force by the time the FIR was registered.
A ground-level investigation has been underway following the FIR. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Daiva Prasad of the Disha Police Station, Vijayawada, was appointed as the initial investigating officer in the case.
Reports suggest that ACP Prasad’s team visited the Swargapuri cremation ground in Vijayawada and questioned staff about the procedures followed while cremating unidentified bodies. Investigators focused particularly on events around 23 and 24 May, when an unidentified body was found near the Vijayawada bus stand departure block and later transported to Swargapuri crematorium the same night.
Investigators also questioned police personnel and station staff at Krishna Lanka Police Station. CCTV footage from both inside and outside the Police Station is being examined to reconstruct the sequence of events during the period in question.
Alongside ACP Prasad’s team, East Godavari District SP D Narasimha Kishore was appointed as the senior investigating officer on 17 June, when Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu ordered a high-level probe. Details of SP Kishore’s probe have not yet been made public.
On 19 June, Vijaya Lakshmi and other family members met Chief Minister Naidu at his camp office. The chief minister heard their account and assured the family of the government’s complete support. He informed them that he had already ordered a probe and confirmed the suspension of CI Nagaraju.
Sai Krishna’s uncle, Mullapudi Navarang, speaking to the media after the meeting, said the chief minister understood the pain of a mother who had lost her son and expressed hope that justice would be delivered.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
