Published Feb 22, 2026 | 5:48 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 22, 2026 | 5:48 PM
The Supreme Court on Thursday criticised the Andhra Pradesh police for a “clear nexus” with political power during the previous YSRCP regime.
Synopsis: The Andhra Pradesh government has suspended four police officers over alleged lapses in the investigation into the 2022 murder of a Dalit youth who worked as a driver for YSRCP MLC Ananta Udaya Bhaskar, following criticism from the Supreme Court. The court said there was a clear nexus between the police and political power during the previous regime and accused officers of delaying the probe to enable default bail. It ordered a time-bound trial under High Court monitoring.
The Andhra Pradesh government has suspended four police officers over alleged administrative and supervisory lapses in the investigation into the 2022 murder of a Dalit youth who was working as a driver for Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party MLC Ananta Udaya Bhaskar.
By GO Rt No 187 dated Saturday, 21 February, the Home (Services-I) Department placed the four officers under suspension under Rule 8(1) of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1991, in public interest to facilitate a departmental inquiry.
The officers suspended are:
V Bheema Rao, formerly Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Kakinada Sub-Division, currently serving as Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration), West Godavari district, Bhimavaram.
P Murali Krishna Reddy, Sub-Divisional Police Officer, formerly of Kakinada Sub-Division, currently awaiting posting.
A Murali Krishna, Inspector of Police, formerly of Sarpavaram Police Station, now working in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district.
N Satish Babu, Sub-Inspector of Police, formerly of Sarpavaram Police Station, currently posted at Port Police Station, Kakinada.
The decision follows remarks by the Supreme Court on 19 February. The court criticised the Andhra Pradesh police for a “clear nexus” with political power during the previous YSRCP regime. It accused them of “hobnobbing” with the accused and deliberately delaying the probe to enable default bail.
The court ordered a time-bound trial to be monitored by the Andhra Pradesh High Court and set strict deadlines for its completion.
The case concerns the killing of Veedhi Subrahmanyam on 19 May 2022 within the Sarpavaram Police Station limits in Kakinada district. The prime accused is Ananta Udaya Bhaskar, also known as Anantha Babu.
The victim’s body was reportedly handed over to his family by the MLC, who initially claimed he died in a road accident. But the postmortem found multiple injuries inconsistent with an accident, which led police to register a murder case. Anantha Babu was arrested shortly after but secured bail in December 2022.
After the TDP came to power in 2024, the state constituted a Special Investigation Team. On 18 February 2026, it filed a supplementary chargesheet naming Anantha Babu and his wife, Anantha Lakshmi Durga, as key accused in murder, conspiracy and destruction of evidence, backed by forensic, CCTV and digital evidence.
According to Saturday’s GO, the officers were suspended for lapses in the investigation of the case under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 506 (criminal intimidation), read with Section 114 of the Indian Penal Code, and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, as amended in 2016.
The government also issued GO Ms No 41 the same day, initiating common disciplinary proceedings against the four officers under Rule 24 of the APCS (CC&A) Rules, 1991. The proceedings will be conducted jointly, as the officers are collectively concerned in the alleged lapses.
Under the order, the Principal Secretary to the Government, Home Department, is the disciplinary authority. He can impose major penalties under the rules, following the procedure laid down in Rules 20 and 21 of the APCS (CC&A) Rules.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
