The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which probed cases related to poll-related violence in Andhra Pradesh, submitted its report to the Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta on Monday, May 20
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vineet Brij Lal, who headed the 13-member SIT, met the DGP in Vijayawada and submitted the 150-page report, which will now be forwarded to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
In the last two days, the SIT which was constituted on the direction of the ECI, probed incidents of poll violence reported from Palnadu, Tirupati, and Anantapur districts on May 13 and the following days. The SIT, has provided details of the actions taken by the police in the report.
The SIT was divided into four sub-teams, each headed by a DSP-level officer. Two of the sub-teams visited Palnadu while one sub-team each was sent to Anantapur and Tirupati. The sub-teams thoroughly reviewed the cases, visited the spots from where violence was reported, interacted with the investigating officers and victims, and verified the evidence collected so far along with the statements of the witnesses.
The team identified 33 incidents of violence that took place in the three districts. A total of 22 cases in three Assembly segments of Palnadu district, seven cases in Tadipatri in Anantapur district, and four cases in two Assembly segments in Tirupati district were registered. A total of 1,370 people were cited as accused in the FIRs registered in connection with 33 incidents of violence. The police have so far arrested 124 accused and issued notices to 94 others under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. As many as 639 accused are yet to be identified and 1152 are yet to be arrested.
The SIT noticed that many of these offences were extremely serious in nature because a multitude of miscreants brazenly participated in them as two groups, pelting stones indiscriminately, which potentially could have led to serious injury or even death.
The SIT also identified many lapses in the investigation and gave clear instructions to the investigating officers for compliance at the earliest. The investigating officers have been directed to constitute special teams to identify and arrest the accused and add appropriate sections to the FIRs. They have also been asked to gather digital evidence and file charge sheets in the case within the specified
Following the submission of the report the DGP directed the district SPs concerned and other top officials to take the next steps to complete the investigation in coordination with the SIT.
Earlier, Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy and DGP Harish Kumar Gupta had appeared before the Election Commission on May 16 to explain the reasons for the failure of the administration to contain post-poll violence in the state. The Election Commission had approved the transfer of the Palnadu District Collector and the Tirupati Superintendent of Police (SP), and suspension of Palnadu and Anantapur SPs, and 12 subordinate police officers in the three districts. A department inquiry has also been initiated against these officers. The poll panel directed the Chief Secretary and the DGP to take stern action against those involved in the violence