Andhra: YSRCP demands judicial probe into police harassment

Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) [India], June 7 (ANI): Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) State Coordinator Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy has lashed out at the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP government, stating that a section of police officers is acting like a private army for Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Minister Nara Lokesh, said a statement from YSRCP state office on Saturday.
He said an organised crime gang has been created within the police system, causing grave harm to the state's law and order machinery.
Speaking to the media after visiting Lakshminarayana, a YSRCP worker receiving treatment at a private hospital in Guntur, Sajjala demanded strict action against the DSP who harassed him and called for a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge into the incident. He also announced that complaints on state-sponsored violence would be submitted to the President of India and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), added the statement.
Referring to a past NHRC remark on Uttar Pradesh, which called the police force there an "organised crime gang in uniform," Sajjala warned that Andhra Pradesh is now witnessing a far worse situation, with unchecked police actions pushing the state toward institutional collapse. Read the statement further.
Sajjala detailed how Lakshminarayana, a businessman and party activist, was summoned by a DSP under the pretext of a panchayat, verbally abused with caste-based slurs, and humiliated for his political affiliation.
The emotional distress led him to attempt suicide, and he is now battling for his life. Sajjala compared this to the Emergency era and blamed the Chandrababu government for destroying the friendly policing culture brought in under YS Jagan's leadership.
Sajjala described the current situation as a silent, undeclared emergency, where police are misusing legal powers as tools of oppression, unchecked by accountability or oversight. He cited several disturbing incidents across the state, like the Kidnapping of Satavahana College principal by a TDP MLC, the beating of three youth in Tenali in broad daylight, the custodial torture of a young man, Harikrishna, in Palnadu and the harassment of women activists like Sudharani and Krishnaveni, who were intimidated without arrests or due process.
He expressed concern that even law-abiding officers are being targeted and pushed into VR, while violators enjoy protection from ministers. "This is not law and order--it is sponsored anarchy," he said.
Sajjala concluded that YSRCP will not stay silent, and will pursue the matter in courts, human rights forums, and before the people, to restore democratic values and protect citizens from state abuse. (ANI)