High court orders judicial inquiry into 'illegal' custody of 3 men

Vijayawada: The high court on Friday ordered a judicial inquiry into the alleged illegal custody of three persons by Guntur urban police.

Hearing the habeas corpus petitions moved by the wives of N Adinarayana, R Srinivasa Rao and T Srinivasa Rao, the high court directed the Guntur principal senior civil judge to conduct the inquiry and submit a report.

On October 14, the petitioners filed a missing complaint with the Pattabhipuram police. As there was no response from the police, they met Guntur urban SP on October 29.

Later, they moved the high court with habeas corpus petitions seeking directions to the police to present their husbands before the court.

The high court heard the matter on October 31 and the government pleader sought time to submit details.

On the same day, Chebrole police produced the three missing persons before a Guntur court and arrested them on the charges of cricket betting.

The three accused deposed before the court that they have been in the police custody since October 14 and the same was recorded by the magistrate.

On Friday, Nimmagadda Venkateswarlu, advocate for the petitioners, submitted the statements of the accused to the high court and said that the police had put them under illegal detention without producing them before the court.

Taking a serious note of the issue, the high court directed the Guntur principal senior civil judge to conduct an inquiry and submit a report on the role of police officers connected to the matter.