A court in Andhra Pradesh has issued an arrest warrant against M. Sunil Kumar Naik, a Bihar cadre IPS officer, in connection with the alleged custodial torture of former Member of Parliament K. Raghu Ramakrishna Raju, who currently serves as the Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly. The warrant was issued by the Guntur mobile court based on a petition filed by the police.
Last year, the Guntur police had issued a notice to Naik, directing him to appear for questioning regarding the case filed against him and others. Following his failure to respond to the notice, a police team recently went to Patna to arrest him.
Naik, who holds the position of Director of Fire Services in Bihar, was taken into custody at his residence in Patna on Monday. Allegations arose that the police entered Naik’s house without presenting the arrest warrant and took him into custody, despite his request for it.
The court sought permission to transfer Naik to Andhra Pradesh, but the plea for transit remand was rejected due to the improper inter-state arrest procedure followed by the Andhra Pradesh Police. With the arrest warrant issued, it is expected that the police team will return to Bihar to take Naik into custody.
Raghurama Krishna Raju, who was reportedly subjected to custodial torture in 2021 during the tenure of the YSR Congress Party, had been arrested for allegedly making defamatory statements against the then Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
