Three police personnel, including a sub-inspector and two constables of Padmanabham police station in the city, were suspended and a case under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act was registered against them for inflicting `third degree’ torture on a `Dalit’ man, resulting in fracture of his right leg.
The torture was so severe that the femur bone was broken into two parts and he had to be rushed to the hospital. The injured person was an ‘accused’ in an unregistered petty complaint of stealing a rooster.
Police Commissioner A. Ravi Shankar ordered an inquiry into the case and appointed Ch. Vivekananda, who is presently ACP of Disha Police, to conduct the inquiry. Based on the inquiry report, the Police Commissioner suspended the three police personnel and registered the atrocity case.
The injured person was identified as Bandevarapu Papu (24) of Bandevarapu village, Padmanabham mandal, Visakhapatnam district. The suspended police personnel were R. Malleswara Rao (SI), K. Srinivasa Rao (constable) and K. Satish (constable) of the crime branch of the police station.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered at 4 a.m. on October 2, the complainant Papu admitted that he along with his accomplice Gali Yernibabu had committed the theft of a rooster belonging to one Indukuri Rajababu of the same village in the last week of September. On September 29, the matter was settled in front of the village elders, but Rajababu had filed a complaint with the Padmanabham police on the same day (September 29). For that, Papu and his accomplice Yernibabu were informed to come to the police station. The accused requested the police that they would settle the matter soon as it is a petty incident.
Later on October 1, at 10 p.m., the accused along with another person Potnuru Ganesh came to the station.
During their interaction, the two constables, Srinivasa Rao and Satish, kept Papu and Yernibabu in a hall located in the backside of the police station. The constables allegedly used filthy language and made casteist remarks and they also beat them up. As per Papu, they also demanded a bribe of ₹5,000 to settle the matter without a police case. Both Papu and Yernibabu had told them (constables) that they did not have the money to pay them.
“Meanwhile, one of the policemen, Srinivasa Rao, allegedly kicked Papu on his right leg, due to which he suffered a fracture,” the FIR stated.
As Papu screamed inside the police station due to the injuries, the relatives, who were waiting outside the police station, including Papu’s elder brother Srinu, reached inside the police station. Seeing his brother’s condition, Srinu and his relatives tried to catch the constables, who fled from the scene.
Injured Papu was taken to Vizianagaram Government Hospital in 108 Ambulance for treatment. He condition is said to be stable, but the doctors informed that he needs a surgery, as it was a compound fracture.
“Papu’s right leg was broken in an accident about nine months ago and he had to undergo a surgery. Now the police constable kicked and fractured the same leg,” Srinu told the police and also stated in the FIR.
