Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has decided to hand over the suspicious death of a minor girl from Kurnool district, Sugali Preethi, to the CBI. After reviewing the case, the CM immediately asked to write a letter to the investigating agency and instructed the officials to take immediate steps to start the investigation.
The investigation of this case was watered down during the previous YSRCP government. They issued a GO as a promise to hand it over to the CBI and then no steps were taken to have the agency conduct the investigation. It was in this context that Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan fought on behalf of Preethi’s family. He stood by them.
Sugali Preethi was studying in class 10 in the hostel of Kattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy School in Kurnool. A case was registered at the Kurnool police station on August 19, 2017, alleging that the girl was tortured and killed, and then evidence was destroyed and an attempt was made to make it look like suicide.
The case was registered under IPC 302, 201 Red-with 34, SC and ST Prevention of Atrocities Act 3(2) (V) and Section 10 of the POCSO Act. The school management representatives K. Janardhan Reddy, K. Harshavardhan Reddy and K. Diwakar Reddy were initially named as accused.
However, in the charge sheet filed later, the sections of rape and murder were deleted. A new section of IPC 306 was included, stating that the accused had abetted suicide. Then the victim’s family members had raised an agitation at that time over the incident.
They protested, alleging that those sections were deleted and the charge sheet was filed to protect the accused even though the medical reports showed that rape and murder had taken place. But the YSRCP government watered down the investigation.
Jana Sena President and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan had raised concerns on behalf of the victim at that time. With this, the YSRCP government issued a GO on February 27, 2020, handing over the case to the CBI. But no steps were taken to ensure that the CBI takes over the investigation.
Meanwhile, Pawan Kalyan had accused the Jagan government of watering down the case by tampering with the DNA test report last week. Now, the coalition government has decided to hand over the case to the CBI.