Published Jul 20, 2026 | 9:03 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 20, 2026 | 9:03 AM
Sexual assault. Representative image.
Synopsis: A woman in Guntur’s Krishna Babu Colony was stripped and assaulted over a reported borewell dispute outside her home. The CCTV footage, purportedly of the troubling incident, was being circulated widely on social media. The TDP expelled one of its leaders, while a police officer has been placed under suspension for the alleged delay in filing an FIR.
Nine people, including women, were arrested, and department-level action was initiated against a police officer after CCTV visuals of an attack on a woman at Krishna Babu Colony in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district surfaced on social media.
The assault, reportedly over a long-standing dispute over a borewell, took place on the night of 15 July.
The woman, a 46-year-old daily-wage labourer, has been living with her husband, a mason, and their two sons in Krishna Babu Colony under the Nagarampalem police jurisdiction in Guntur.
According to the FIR, the survivor’s family had owned and used the disputed borewell for years, along with several of their neighbours.
The complaint stated that around 2 pm on 15 July, the woman’s husband was carrying out repairs on the borewell when Mallela Venkata Ramana Murthy, who identified himself as the local ward secretary, confronted him.
Murthy allegedly demanded ₹10,000 and threatened to stall the repair or shut down the borewell if he was not paid. When the husband refused, an argument broke out between the two men.
The survivor and her son reportedly stepped in and took her husband back inside the house to defuse the situation.
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The complaint alleged that around 8 pm, Murthy returned to the complainant’s house with eight other people. The group barged in and attacked the residents. Her husband was not at home when the alleged assault took place.
According to the survivor’s statement, the accused grabbed hold of her, tore her clothes, and stripped her in front of onlookers. They reportedly punched her and struck her with stones. She alleged that her earrings were pulled away during the assault, tearing her ear and causing heavy bleeding. She was also injured in the neck, arm and back.
During the attack, she alleged that her gold mangalsutra, a mobile phone, and two gold rings were forcibly snatched away from her.
Her elder son, who tried to intervene to protect his mother, was, in turn, beaten by the attackers. The survivor further alleged that someone in the group attempted to garrote her son. He was rescued by the neighbours.
The FIR stated that before leaving, the attackers abused and threatened to kill the family if the matter was pursued the matter further. They dispersed once residents gathered at the scene.
Reports suggest that when the survivor’s family went to the Nagarampalem police station, they were asked to first get medical treatment and bring back a case sheet from the hospital before a complaint could be registered.
The FIR was eventually filed only past midnight.
The FIR was registered under Sections 331(6), 79, 115(2), and 118(1), read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which include provisions relating to house trespass, outraging a woman’s modesty, and voluntarily causing hurt, among others.
The accused were all found to be members of the same family. The FIR named Murthy, his wife Sampurna, sister Tirupati Durga, mother Kondamma, sons Karthik and Durgaprasad, Durga’s husband Ramesh, and a relative Tammishetty Vijaya, along with her daughter Madhavi, identified as a transwoman.
The nine accused were arrested and later produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody. The Circle Inspector of Nagarampalem, Y Satyanarayana, has been sent on Vigilance and Reserve (VR) duty over the delay in registering the complaint, and a departmental inquiry into the lapse is underway.
The visuals of the assault went viral on social media on Saturday, 18 July. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu described the incident as deeply disturbing and said he had ordered immediate and strict action, adding that no one would be shielded on account of political affiliation.
Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh and Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha also condemned the attack, reiterating the state government’s zero-tolerance approach to crimes against women. The TDP suspended Murthy from the party following the allegations.
The Opposition YSR Congress Party, however, alleged that the perpetrator was closely associated with the local MLA and accused the ruling party of initially attempting to protect those involved. They also questioned why the police did not act when the woman first approached them earlier that day.
