Published Jun 19, 2026 | 3:49 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 19, 2026 | 4:02 PM
Gade Sai Krishna and his mother Vijaya Lakshmi. (Screengrab/ X)
Synopsis: The state government is scrambling to save its reputation. But what happened to Gade Sai Krishna is unconscionable and will haunt the ruling NDA for a long time.
The mysterious disappearance of a 25-year-old youth in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh will go down as one of the most chilling custodial crimes in recent history, with all accounts suggesting that the victim, Gade Sai Krishna, is no more.
Available evidence based on corroborative statements suggests that the death of Sai Krishna was more barbaric than the infamous case involving P Jayaraj and his son, Bennix, both of whom died in the custody of Santhanakulam police in Tamil Nadu in June 2020. Nine police officers were sentenced to death in this case in April 2026.
Even as the political leadership of Andhra Pradesh is grappling with ways to wriggle out of a case that has attracted nationwide attention, the sheer cruelty and thuggishness that led to the youngster being allegedly killed and his body burnt without any traces being left behind has sent shockwaves.
The incident has also raised serious questions about the lawless functioning of the Andhra Pradesh police and the blanket freedom given by the powers-that-be to the law-enforcement machinery.
Fearing a massive fallout and in an attempt to prevent further damage, the Circle Inspector of Krishna Lanka police station in Vijayawada, Nagaraju, has been placed under suspension, with a murder and wrongful confinement case booked against him on Friday, June 19. His arrest is likely to follow.
Fictional horror movies pale in comparison to what happened in the case of Sai Krishna, a youngster from a lower-middle-class background with multiple petty cases against him. Krishna had been acquitted in many of these cases, while a few are still pending.
His mother has been waiting for over a month now to have a glimpse of her son’s body or at least get his ashes so that she could immerse them in the nearby River Krishna. But the Andhra Pradesh police believed they could bury the case and get away with their brazenness.
Here are the details that would shock anyone’s conscience.
On May 9, two constables attached to the Krishna Lanka police station went to Sai Krishna’s residence and asked his mother, Vijaya Lakshmi, about his whereabouts. A non-bailable warrant was pending against her son, they reminded her.
Sai Krishna, according to a habeas corpus petition filed by the mother in the High Court, had shifted to Markapuram town, about 200 km from Vijayawada, unable to bear constant police harassment.
The mother was taken to the police station, interrogated for a few hours and her mobile phone was confiscated. Upon returning from the police station, the mother managed to establish contact with her son. That was the last time she spoke to him.
Using the mother’s phone, the police traced Sai Krishna to Markapuram town. According to highly-placed sources South First spoke to, Sai Krishna was picked up the following day (May 10) by two women taskforce personnel from Markapuram. They brought him to Vijayawada, kept him for a day and handed him over to the Krishna Lanka police.
What followed was unbearable torture at the hands of more than ten policemen, if one were to go by the version of the family members.
“I saw Sai being brutally tortured. Sometime after he was brought to the station, police sent away all other accused kept there. I was also let off after a day. I don’t know why I was asked to leave because there are cases against me too. But before I was let go, I was witness to the most barbaric treatment Sai got at the hands of police,” Mahankali Chandu, accused in a different case and an eyewitness, said in a video released to the public.
The narration was no different from family members.
“There are only two petty cases pending against Sai. They kept beating him on the hands and legs so much so that his legs were paralysed. A registered doctor was brought to the police station to give him some treatment, but it was of no help,” Sai’s family members told YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the former chief minister, when he visited them on Thursday, June 18.
The mother kept visiting the police station daily, pleading with the police for an opportunity to see her son. “One day when I went, I could hear him crying badly. He was let off on previous occasions when he was picked up by the police. Not this time,” mother Vijaya Lakshmi explained to Jagan.
Sources said around 4-5 days after he was continuously tortured, Sai Krishna lost his cool and abused the police. That was when he was allegedly stomped with heavy boots on his private parts, leading to his instant death. What followed was worse. In the middle of the night, the body was allegedly taken to the crematorium and burnt, leaving no traces whatsoever.
Vijaya Lakshmi returned to the police on May 16 but was told that her son was no longer with them.
Unaware of her son’s death, the mother kept visiting the police station until she was told one day that he had died and could garland his photo. She pleaded that the body be handed over or at least the ashes be given. Police would have none of it. Eventually, fifteen days after it was confiscated, the police returned the phone to the mother after deleting call history and the rest of the data.
Also Read | “Show me my son or his ashes”: Mother’s plea puts AP police under intense scrutiny
This was when Vijaya Lakshmi sought the help of a relative who happens to be an advocate. They first approached the Human Rights Committee attached to the Vijayawada Bar Association on May 28. The Committee recorded her statement, according to which Vijaya Lakshmi went to Markapuram on May 13 and learnt from the local coconut vendor there that Sai Krishna was picked up by the police. Locals also informed her that Sai Krishna’s articles and belongings were removed from the place where he was residing.
On June 2, the mother moved the AP High Court with a habeas corpus petition, detailing this sequence of events. The HC wanted the police to produce him by June 15. There was no response from the police, and they did not even care to file a counter.
When the matter came up before the HC again two days ago, the Court gave further time (until June 29) for Sai Krishna to be produced. A local court, parallelly, issued another direction to protect the CCTV footage from May 1 onwards.
As pressure mounted, the government began to act. An officer of the rank of SP has been asked to conduct a probe. How fair the investigation will be when the accused are fellow policemen is the big question. What response the police would give to the court is another.
Having registered a murder case against the Circle Inspector now, can the police establishment come out with a theory that they never took Sai Krishna into custody? Or that he was picked up but escaped from custody?
The case is likely to haunt the ruling NDA for a long time to come. The victim and the accused both hail from the Kapu community to which Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan belongs. He has maintained a stoic silence so far. But the silence could prove costly in the long run.
Also Read: Back pain or political pain? Questions over Pawan Kalyan’s walkout from Andhra Pradesh Cabinet meet
