The victim, also a native of Andhra Pradesh, spent months trapped in 3 houses in Missouri, allegedly monitored by ‘ring leader’ Sattaru.
Venkatesh R Sattaru, Sravan Varma Penumetcha, and Nikhil Verma Penmatsa. (St Charles County, Missouri/Official Website)
Authorities in the US have rescued a 20-year-old Andhra Pradesh student, who was held captive for months without access to a bathroom, viciously beaten, and forced to work at three houses by his cousin and two other Indian-origin men in an incident described as “absolutely inhumane and unconscionable”.
The victim, whose name was not disclosed, spent months trapped in three houses in the US state of Missouri.
On Wednesday, 29 November, police descended upon a house on a rural highway in St Charles County. They later arrested Venkatesh R Sattaru, Sravan Varma Penumetcha, and Nikhil Verma Penmatsa, and, on Thursday, charged them with offences including human trafficking, kidnapping, and assault.
Sattaru is allegedly a youth leader of the ruling YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh, according to his website and social media accounts.
Police were dispatched to investigate the house after a concerned citizen became aware of the situation and called 911.
Meanwhile, TDP leader Nara Lokesh took to social media and claimed that a counter-case has been filed against the victim by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the Andhra Pradesh Police.
He alleged on X that the youngster was lured into travelling to the US, assuring him of a “golden future”. He added that “Jagan is sucking the blood of people of Andhra Pradesh, his minion psychos are showing sadism on the youth of AP in America”.
సైకో జగన్ ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ జనం రక్తం పీల్చుతుంటే, ఆయన అనుచర పిల్ల సైకోలు అమెరికాలో ఏపీ యువతపై శాడిజం చూపిస్తున్నారు. ఏపీకి చెందిన 20 ఏళ్ల కుర్రాడికి బంగారు భవిష్యత్తు ఆశ చూపించి అమెరికా రప్పించి, అక్కడ కూడా తమ అధినేత జగన్ లాగే సైకోయిజం చూపించాడు వైసీపీ నేత సత్తారు… pic.twitter.com/PCcWmwHENc
— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) December 1, 2023
Sattaru’s online presence is adorned with his association with the YSRCP. According to his Facebook page, he is the state coordinator for the legal cell of the YSRCP. The page also states that he is a member of the teachers’ federation, trade union, and medical unit of the party.
Additionally, he identifies himself as a “warrior of YSRCP” and advertises his social work on his website.
The victim is safe and being treated at a hospital for multiple bone fractures, as well as lacerations and injuries covering his entire body, said prosecutor Joe McCulloch.
Over seven months, the men locked the student in a basement and forced him to sleep on an unfinished floor without access to a bathroom, the charges against the three say.
He scavenged for scraps in nearby restaurant dumpsters and was beaten with electrical wire, PVC pipes, metal rods, wooden boards, sticks, and a water supply hose for a washing machine, the St Louis Post-Dispatch, a major regional newspaper, reported.
“It’s absolutely inhumane and unconscionable that one human being could treat another human being like this,” said McCulloch at a news conference on Thursday.
The three defendants are accused of confining and abusing the victim at three different houses owned by Sattaru in Defiance, Dardenne Prairie, and O’Fallon in Missouri, starting in April 2023, according to the St Charles County’s official website.
Sattaru was identified by investigators as the ring leader and lives in the O’Fallon house with his wife and children.
The main suspect in the case, Sattaru, 35, is additionally charged with human trafficking for the purpose of slavery and contributing to human trafficking through misuse of documentation.
Penumetcha and Penmatsa live in the house where the student was rescued.
Authorities said that the student had come to the US from India last year with hopes of studying at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla. Instead, he was taken to Sattaru’s houses in the beginning of April and was forced to begin chores around 4.30 am, work a full day for Sattaru’s IT company and then complete a list of evening tasks.
The student told police that he regularly got three hours of sleep on a concrete floor in a locked basement where Sattaru monitored him via a surveillance camera, according to court documents.
Charges state that if the 20-year-old didn’t complete his tasks properly, he was severely beaten. He was forced to strip naked and was hit all over his body. He was kicked, stomped, and lashed, the charges say, and his injuries included previous fractures and breaks that did not heal properly.
No one answered the door at Sattaru’s home on Thursday afternoon. None of the three men had attorneys listed in court documents.
“They beat him with their fists, they stomped on him, they beat him with electrical wiring, with PVC pipes,” McCulloch said. “They forced him to sleep in an unfinished basement, they starved him, and limited his access to the public and to restrooms.” McCulloch commended that citizen for making the rescue possible.
“If you see something, say something. We would much rather check it out and find nothing than have an incident like this that’s been going on for nearly a year,” McCulloch said.
Because the three suspects are wealthy and have political connections in India, McCulloch said they are being held at the St Charles County Jail without bond.
Neighbours in O’Fallon were shaken by the arrests on Thursday. Many said they’d had pleasant interactions with the family, waving as they passed on the street or played with children in the cul-de-sac.
“It’s shocking, for sure,” said Chirag Shah, who lives down the street from Sattaru’s house.
And in Defiance, an unincorporated community of less than 100 people known for its wineries, gift shops, and position along the Katy Trail, neighbours watched as police flocked to the house on Wednesday morning, the newspaper reported.
Police were told at first by a man in the home that they couldn’t come inside, but the Indian student eventually came running from the basement. He was trembling uncontrollably, heavily scarred, and suffering from bruising and swelling all over his body, charges say.
After fleeing the house, the student told police that Sattaru would often beat him himself, but Penumetcha and Penmatsa sometimes punished him too. Sattaru would call the pair and tell them to beat the Indian student, then tell them to hit him harder if Sattaru was not satisfied with his cousin’s cries of pain, authorities said.
The student said that he was afraid to report the trio because they were wealthy and had powerful connections in India. He said that he feared for his safety, as well as his family’s in India.
Investigators say that the victim was almost always in the presence of at least one of the three suspects and had limited contact with his family, only through cell phone with one of the suspects nearby.
McCulloch said that it’s unclear whether there might be more victims related to this investigation, but reminded the public to report any suspicious activity they might note.
(With PTI inputs)
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