VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday has reserved its orders on a petition filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) challenging certain conditions imposed by a Vijayawada court while granting police custody of Nagaraju, the prime accused in the alleged custodial death of 24-year-old Gade Sai Krishna.
Justice Kuncham Maheswara Rao heard arguments from both sides and stated that orders would be pronounced on Tuesday. The dispute arose after the II Additional Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Vijayawada granted police custody of Nagaraju until July 10.
While allowing the SIT’s request, the magistrate has directed that the accused be inter rogated only wi thin Rajamahendravaram Central Jail and in areas covered by CCTV cameras or other video - recording systems.
The local court also ordered continuous audio and video recording of the entire interrogation process without interruption or editing. Further, the magistrate directed prison authorities to preserve all CCTV footage recorded during the custody period until further orders and prohibited any deletion, overwriting or tampering.
The court also held the investigating officer, Additional SP, SIT members and the jail superintendent jointly and individually responsible for Nagaraju’s safety. Challenging these directions, Public Prosecutor Menda Lakshminarayana, appearing for the SIT, argued before the High Court that the conditions would hamper the investigation.
Public Prosecutor Lakshminarayana has contended that the choice of location for interrogation falls within the discretion of the investigating officer and cited Supreme Court rulings supporting that principle. The prosecutor submitted that investigators may need to collect physical evidence and reconstruct the crime scene based on information obtained during custodial interrogation.
He also offered that Nagaraju could be shifted to prison in Guntur after daily questioning if there were concerns regarding his safety and other related issues.