Jagan slams Andhra police over alleged torture of YSRCP leader's son

Vijayawada: YSRCP chief and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday attacked Andhra Pradesh Police for allegedly torturing a party leader's son at Tangada village in the Palnadu district.

Reddy said that the alleged torture of Harikrishna, Yellaiah's son, by Dachepalli police points to an "undeclared emergency" in the state.

"Is it acceptable if police who are meant to protect people unleash violence against them. It signals the breakdown of democratic order. This is an undeclared emergency unfolding in Andhra Pradesh,” Reddy said in a post on X.

In a purported video shared by the former CM on X, Harikrishna's wife, children, parents, and relatives were seen staging a protest against his arrest, raising serious allegations against the police.

In the video, Harikrishna's wife was heard complaining that the police picked her husband up in the morning saying that they would send him back in a few hours but they failed to do so even around mid-day.

Staging a sit-in protest in front of the Dachapalli police station along with her family members and three minor children, she demanded justice and threatened that they would consume pesticides if her husband was not released or they were given an opportunity to meet him.

The video showed a middle-aged man in an orange shirt, purported to be Harikrishna, sitting battered on the floor and was later seen limping as a policeman helped him to walk.

The video further shows locals raising anti-police slogans near the Dachepalli police station.

Meanwhile, a local police official told PTI that Harikrishna had allegedly stabbed a man in an inebriated condition over a previous dispute and was booked under Section 109 of the BNS Act.

“Harikrishna was remanded as per legal procedure. Spreading false claims or political propaganda is unlawful and irresponsible,” said the official.