Three Indian men have been charged by the Missouri police in the United States of America for abusing, assaulting, and enslaving a 20-year-old Indian student. The Missouri state police have charged Venkatesh Sattaru Reddy (35), Nikhil V Penmatsa (27) and Sravan Penumetcha (23), with six crimes, including ones related to abuse, slavery, and trafficking. Venkatesh is a youth leader of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) of Andhra Pradesh, as per his social media accounts.
The victim, whose identity the Missouri court withheld, was Venkatesh’s cousin and shared the house with him. According to a River Front Times report, the victim reached Missouri after getting admission in a college and was supposed to stay with his cousin. But Venkatesh and his two friends allegedly made him a slave and kept him locked in their basement. They did not provide him adequate food or water and had assaulted him multiple times.
The victim was able to break free from captivity on November 30. According to reports, Venkatesh gave Nikhil and Sravan – who shared the same address as him – instructions to torture the victim and livestream a video of the same.
According to Joseph McCulloch, the prosecutor for St Charles County as quoted in River Front Times, the victim was the ‘main target’ of torture. “Venkatesh would call the other two defendants and instruct them to beat the 20-year-old over a livestream. If the victim did not scream loud enough, Venkatesh would tell them to beat him harder,” McCulloch said.
The victim "yelled, screaming for help" as he fled his house. "I don't know how much more animalistic a type of behaviour you can get than that," McCulloch added.
Venkatesh has strong connections with YSRCP leaders, as apparent from his social media accounts, and has over 50,000 followers in addition to several ‘fan pages’. According to his Facebook page, he is the state coordinator for the legal cell of the YSRCP. The page also states that he is a member of the teachers’ federation, trade union, and medical unit of the party. Additionally, he identifies himself as a “warrior of YSRCP” and advertises his social work on his website.