*Punish every officer responsible for Kranthi Kumar’s death: YSRCP SC Cell*

Tadepalli, June 19: YSRCP SC Cell Working President Kommuri Kanaka Rao demanded stringent action against all police personnel responsible for the death of Dalit youth Kranthi Kumar, stating that the government must ensure justice for the victim’s family. Speaking at the party’s central office in Tadepalli, he said police stations in Vijayawada have ceased to function as institutions that uphold the law and have instead turned into centres of intimidation, custodial harassment and torture.
Kanaka Rao said the back-to-back incidents involving Gade Sai Krishna’s custodial death and the suicide of Dalit youth Kranthi Kumar after continuous police harassment have created fear among the public and raised serious questions over the state of law and order. He stated that Kranthi Kumar’s death reflects the deteriorating functioning of the police system and has shaken public confidence in law enforcement.
He asserted that if Kranthi Kumar had criminal cases pending against him, the legal process and the courts were the appropriate institutions to decide his guilt and punishment. No police officer, he said, has the authority to mentally harass or intimidate a person to the point of suicide by taking the law into their own hands.
Kanaka Rao pointed out that Kranthi Kumar’s father had personally approached the Vijayawada Police Commissioner and informed him that Krishna Lanka police officials were harassing his son in custody and abusing him on the basis of his caste. Despite the complaint, no timely intervention was made by senior officials, resulting in the loss of a young Dalit life.
Demanding accountability, he called for immediate registration of criminal cases under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the Krishna Lanka CI and all police personnel responsible for Kranthi Kumar’s death. He also sought a high-level inquiry and strict punishment for those involved, stating that only firm action would restore public confidence in the police system and prevent such custodial harassment from recurring.