‘Jai Bhim’ inspires Siddipet woman to fight for justice
Siddipet: The critically-acclaimed Suriya-starrer ‘Jai Bhim’ which portrays the fight of a tribal woman in Tamil Nadu seeking justice for the lock-up death of her husband, has sparked the fire in Lakshmi Narsavva, a native of Venkatraopet village in Thoguta Mandal, Siddipet district, to seek justice for the alleged lock-up death of her brother at […]
Siddipet: The critically-acclaimed Suriya-starrer ‘Jai Bhim’ which portrays the fight of a tribal woman in Tamil Nadu seeking justice for the lock-up death of her husband, has sparked the fire in Lakshmi Narsavva, a native of Venkatraopet village in Thoguta Mandal, Siddipet district, to seek justice for the alleged lock-up death of her brother at Thoguta police station almost two decades ago.
An illiterate, Lakshmi Narsavva, did the rounds of various courts including the Supreme Court, seeking justice for her brother Pandi Yadagiri for several years from 2002 when he allegedly died in police lock up. She and her son Naveen decided to get the case reopened after watching the movie, and approached the Sangareddy district court last week to inquire about Yadagiri’s case file number.
Yadagiri, then 27-years-old, was taken to the police station on April 4, 2002, in connection with a murder case in the village. The police led by Thoguta Inspector Madhukar Swamy took six youths into custody along with Yadagiri. They, however, release all of them in a couple of days except Yadagiri. Narasvva visited the police station carrying lunch for her brother on April 6 and 7, but she was not allowed to see him. Following her request, Sub-inspector of Police Kareemulla allowed her to catch a glimpse of Yadagiri, who was badly beaten up. Narsavva said Yadagiri could not even walk.
Just as in the storyline of Jai Bhim, on April 8, Inspector Madhukar Swamy informed Narsavva that her brother Yadagiri had escaped from the police station. The Inspector even tried to force her to file a missing person case but she refused and demanded that the police allow her to see her brother. With the help of villagers, they staged a protest at the police station following which then Siddipet DSP Prakash Reddy ordered an inquiry into the incident with Inspector Venkat Reddy as inquiry officer. During the inquiry, a constable revealed to the inquiry officials that Yadagiri died in the police station and that he was buried at Peddagutta in Kondapak Mandal.
Subsequently, following the orders of the High Court, the body was exhumed from the burial ground three months after the incident. After carrying out the postmortem in the presence of the family members, the police filed a case against Inspector Madhukar Swamy, Sub-inspector Karimulla and four constables. After suspending them from duty, they registered cases under IPC 306 and 201 against them. However, they were released from Jail after 90 days of trial. Later, Narsavva built a samadhi at her farm, and installed a stone on it with the inscription that Inspector Madhukar Swamy killed Yadagiri on April 8, 2002, and that he was buried in Peddagutta.
When she did not get the desired result in court after long trials, Narasavva approached Supreme Court in 2005 with the help of Supreme Court advocate Chandrashekar Reddy. Following the directions of the Apex court, the High Court of Andhra Pradesh ordered a CID inquiry. Narsavva said the CID had filed a charge-sheet in Sangareddy district court, but the court dismissed the case saying there was no proper evidence.
Speaking to Telangana Today, Narasavva said the accused had tried to lure her by offering a huge amount to withdraw the case, but she did not yield. “I will fight for justice till my last breath, even if it means I have to seek alms,” she said.
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