Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and YSR Congress Party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday met the family of Perapogu Kranthi Kumar, a taxi driver who allegedly died by suicide due to police harassment.
After meeting the bereaved family, Jagan launched a sharp attack on the state government, accusing it of presiding over a “jungle raj” and alleging a larger conspiracy behind recent incidents involving the police.
Jagan claimed that the law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh had deteriorated badly under the present government.
He drew parallels between two recent incidents; an alleged custodial death and the alleged suicide of Kranthi Kumar.
“The term ‘jungle raj’ should not be attributed to some state like Bihar. It should be attributed to Andhra Pradesh, which is being governed by N Chandrababu Naidu’s regime,” Jagan said.
He alleged that the kind of atrocities being witnessed in the state reflected the same “jungle raj” that people often talk about.
“Two incidents took place in the heart of the city. One was a death in a lockup, and the other was a suicide due to the atrocities of the police. These two cases reflect the degraded law and order situation in the state,” he said.
Jagan further alleged that crucial evidence had gone missing and claimed that a bigger conspiracy was at play.
“The video footage from the police station is missing. A bigger conspiracy is at play. This kind of cartelised syndicate is using the police for murders. Why is the chief minister silent?” he asked.
Kranthi Kumar, who worked as a taxi driver, allegedly died by suicide after facing police harassment.
On June 20, the YSRCP had demanded that the Vijayawada police commissioner be held responsible for the deaths of Sai Krishna and Kranthi Kumar.
The party also sought a CBI investigation to bring out the actual facts behind the incidents.
