Hyderabad: Director General (DG), Prisons, Soumya Mishra, late on Thursday issued orders suspending the Sangareddy jailer Sanjiv Kumar Reddy and wrote to special chief secretary, home, Ravi Gupta, to take action on the jail superintendent.
The action came after Sangareddy Jail officials handcuffed and chained a farmer, Heera Naik, arrested in the Lagcharla incident, while shifting him to a government hospital, even as reports of possible sabotage, including hiding Naik’s identity, emerged on Thursday.
Reports suggested that Naik was set up by Larcharla incident prime accused B. Suresh, and that there appeared to be an attempt to embarrass the government.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who was in Delhi, condemned the incident and asked the officials to inquire into the issue.
It also turned out that the Sangareddy Jail officials had entered the details of another unrelated case in the Balanagar police limits and named Naik in it, while seeking an escort detail from the Cyberabad police to take the undertrial to hospital.
The IG inquired if there was a deliberate attempt to hide the details of Naik, which led the jail officials to mis-state his case and call the Cyberabad police. Police were also inquiring if an attempt was made by the jail officials to bring disrepute to the government.
The government is likely to take action on Sangareddy prison superintendent in connection with the incident.
Following the Chief Minister’s directives, and growing anger, inspector-general of police (IGP) V. Satyanarayana rushed to the Sangareddy Jail and began inquiries. The officials asked the jail authorities why they had handcuffed the farmer and why wrong details were furnished in the letter seeking escort teams.
During the four-hour-long meeting with jail officials, IG Satyanarayana reportedly found that one of the accused, B. Suresh, prime suspect in the Lagcharla incident, had made calls to unknown persons on Wednesday morning and informed them that Naik would get bail if he complained chest pain.
The IG asked the officials to get details about Suresh's activities inside the jail.
According to officials, Naik was lodged in the Sangareddy district jail after police arrested him in connection with the Lagcharla incident in which villagers attacked Vikarabad collector Prateek Jain during a public hearing.
Naik complained that he was suffering chest pain for two days. The jail medical staff suggested shifting Naik to a government hospital.
Meanwhile, jail officials wrote to the Cyberabad police seeking an escort team to shift at least 14 inmates to hospitals and courts, including Naik. In Naik’s case, the jail officials told the Cyberabad police that he was accused in a case in Balanagar, while not mentioning the Lagcharla case.
The case mentioned by the jail authorities was Crime No 153/2024 which related to one Mohammed Yakub Ali of Bowenpally lodging a complaint about a road accident with the Balanagar police.
There is another case with the Balanagar police of Mahbubnagar in which one Pothireddi Anil Kumar, resident of Peddarevally of Balanagar mandal, reported a dispute with Thirumal Prabhakar Reddy regarding two plots of land of 2.1 acres, one each in Survey No.s 18 and 21.
Neither of these cases named Heera Naik.
