VIJAYAWADA: Former Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was Friday booked alongside two IPS officers, another cop and a govt doctor for an alleged 2021 conspiracy in attempting to murder K Raghurama Krishnam Raju, a former YSRC MP who is now an MLA of the governing TDP.
Raju accused cops of torturing him at Jagan’s behest after he was arrested three years ago on charges of sedition for “disturbing communal harmony and attacking dignitaries of govt”.Raju had won Narsapuram seat in the 2019 LS elections on a YSRC ticket, but had a falling out with Jagan, also the party chief, within a few months.
Nagarampalem police in Guntur registered the case on Raju’s complaint. The Undi MLA has alleged third-degree torture at the hands of then DG of CID PV Sunil Kumar, then anti-corruption bureau DG P Seetharamanjaneyulu and ASP Vijay Pal in custody on then CM Jagan’s instructions. “PV Sunil Kumar threatened me that he will kill me if I criticise Jagan Mohan Reddy,” Raju said in the complaint.
The doctor named in Raju’s complaint is Dr G Prabhavathi, superintendent of Govt General Hospital in Guntur. Raju claimed the doctor had issued a certificate falsely declaring that he had suffered no assault injuries in custody.
As YSRCP MP, Raju had openly disagreed with Jagan on a decision to turn govt Telugu medium schools into English medium and even alleged scams in several govt schemes. YSRCP had in July 2020 asked the Lok Sabha Speaker to disqualify him as an MP for anti-party activities. However, the Speaker never took a call on the request. Raju had also written to PM Narendra Modi, accusing Jagan of promoting evangelism in Andhra Pradesh.
In his complaint, Raju alleged that he was taken to the CID office in Guntur, beaten with a rubber belt and a stick, and not allowed to take medicines for his heart ailment.