Amaravati, March 6 – Bihar Inspector General of Police, Sunil Kumar Naik, appeared before the Andhra Pradesh police for the second consecutive day on Friday for questioning regarding the alleged custodial torture of former Member of Parliament K. Raghurama Krishna Raju.
The IPS officer from Bihar reached the Central Crime Station in Guntur at 10 p.m. The questioning is expected to continue until 5 p.m., a police officer said.
Sunil Naik is being questioned by a police team led by Superintendent of Police A. R. Damodar of Vizianagaram, who is the investigating officer in the case.
Naik, who is the Director of Fire Services in Bihar, was questioned for seven hours on Thursday.
As per the direction of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, he has to appear before the police every day until March 9, when hearings on his anticipatory bail petition will resume.
The Guntur Police had last year booked former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and three IPS officers, including Sunil Naik, for the alleged torture of Raghurama Krishna Raju in 2021 during the tenure of the YSR Congress Party government.
Raju, then an independent MP of YSRCP, was arrested for alleged derogatory remarks against then Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Naik was on deputation in Andhra Pradesh and was serving as Deputy Inspector General in the Crime Investigation Department (CID).
The IPS officer is currently serving as the Director of Bihar State Fire Services while Raju is the Deputy Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
Raju was elected to the Lok Sabha on a YSRCP ticket from Narsapuram in 2019, but he later became an independent MP.
He was arrested on May 14, 2021, at his residence in Hyderabad and brought to Guntur.
Raju joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) just before the 2024 elections and was elected to the Assembly. After the TDP-led coalition came to power, he became Deputy Speaker.
Based on a complaint by Raju, who alleged that there was an attempt on his life during police custody, a case was registered against Jagan Mohan Reddy, three IPS officers, and others.
The Andhra Pradesh Police had arrested Sunil Naik in Patna on February 23 as he was not appearing for questioning despite receiving notices. However, a Patna court rejected the police plea for his transit warrant.
Following this, the police approached a court in Guntur, which issued an arrest warrant on February 26.
The IPS officer had also moved the High Court for anticipatory bail. His counsel argued that the case against him was politically motivated. The court was informed that the petitioner had only arrested Raju in Hyderabad in connection with a case and shifted him to Guntur. He denied involvement in the alleged custodial torture of the then MP.
While granting interim protection, the High Court had directed him to appear before the investigation officer.