Shocking details that have since emerged suggest that the convict’s associate had access to the Secretariat, the seat of power, and to the top bureaucrat, who was, incidentally, due to retire in a few months.
Published Aug 22, 2025 | 6:09 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 22, 2025 | 6:36 PM
Andhra Pradesh secretariat. (Supplied)
Synopsis: A senior Andhra Pradesh bureaucrat has come under scrutiny after the parole granted to murder convict and rowdy sheeter A Srikanth spiralled into a scandal involving allegations of influence at the highest levels of the state administration. Videos showing Srikanth in intimate acts with his associate Nidigunta Aruna inside a government hospital during parole triggered widespread outrage, leading to the cancellation of his parole on 12 August and his return to Nellore Central Jail.
A top Andhra Pradesh bureaucrat has found himself at the centre of a growing controversy over the parole granted to a notorious rowdy sheeter and murder convict.
The issue has snowballed into a sex scandal, leading to the cancellation of parole given to the convict, A Srikanth, amid allegations of influence from the highest levels of the state bureaucracy.
Srikanth, who hails from Gudur in Nellore district, is serving a life term in Nellore Central Jail following his conviction in a murder case. He was involved in gang wars, illegal settlements, land grabbing and extortion, often in collaboration with his associate Nidigunta Aruna.
Shortly after his release on parole for a month, Srikanth was admitted to a government hospital in Tirupati and later transferred to Nellore Government Hospital.
A Home Department memo dated 16 July rejecting the parole.
Trouble began here. Videos surfaced showing Srikanth in intimate and obscene acts with a woman on the hospital bed, who was none other than Aruna, his accomplice in previous crimes.
Though he was in the hospital under police guard, the special treatment given to Srikanth and unrestricted visits by Aruna, as evidenced in videos, led to public outrage.
As the issue escalated, the parole, granted on 30 July, was cancelled on 12 August by Home Minister V Anitha. He was sent back to jail and an inquiry was ordered.
On 19 August, Aruna was also arrested near Addanki while attempting to flee. She was charged in a separate extortion case and remanded to judicial custody.
What is known is that two Telugu Desam Party MLAs—Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy (Nellore Rural) and P Sunil Kumar (Gudur)—submitted letters recommending parole for Srikanth.
Referring to these representations, the Home Department, however, issued a memo on 16 July rejecting the parole on the ground that he was ineligible.
A GO dated 30 July granting 30-day parole.
But the very same department issued a GO on 30 July granting 30-day parole to enable the prisoner to “deal with financial matters of his family.”
Who moved the files between the rejection of the parole (16 July) and the approval (30 July) remains unclear.
Shocking details that have since emerged suggest that the convict’s associate had access to the Secretariat, the seat of power, and to the top bureaucrat, who was, incidentally, due to retire in a few months.
Soon after the parole was rejected, she reportedly utilised her proximity to the bureaucrat to get the decision reversed.
Instructions reportedly flowed to officials down the line, and the Home Minister was not even in the loop before the GO (No 1267) was issued on 30 July.
Intelligence officials are said to have briefed political bosses on the evidence gathered by them to establish the proximity between Aruna and the bureaucrat.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
