Expressing shock over the alleged murder of former additional vigilance and security officer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Y Satish Kumar, a key witness in the sensational Parakamani currency theft case, the Andhra Pradesh high court on Tuesday ordered protection to C V Ravi Kumar, the prime accused in the case.
“Security must also be extended to accused employee Ravi Kumar, given the tense circumstances following Satish Kumar’s killing,” the high court directed the state police, during the hearing.
Satish Kumar, who had initially detected the theft and filed the official complaint against TTD employee Ravi Kumar, was found dead on the railway tracks near Komali railway station at Tadipatri in Anantapur on Friday morning.
Though the YSR Congress party has alleged that Satish Kumar had died by suicide by jumping from the moving train, the preliminary post-mortem report has indicated that he was hacked to death.
During the hearing on the government’s petition in the case on Tuesday, the state high court expressed deep shock over the murder of a complainant who was not only a government official but someone attending court proceedings related to a sensitive corruption case.
The judge said it was “astonishing” that such a crucial witness in a major case could be killed under suspicious circumstances, calling it a serious lapse in protection.
He directed the police to provide security to the accused Ravi Kumar and other witnesses in the case.
“Full security must be provided to all witnesses in the Parakamani theft case. Security must also be extended to accused employee Ravi Kumar, given the tense circumstances following Satish Kumar’s killing,” he said.
The high court also responded to a memo filed by the CID Director General, who sought permission to have lower-level CID officers investigate the case under his direct supervision. The judge accepted the memo and adjourned the next hearing to December 2.
Meanwhile, the police transferred the Satish Kumar murder probe to Tadipatri. Investigators are now examining the CCTV footage and passenger movements on the train he travelled in.
They are inquiring whether any suspicious persons or known offenders were present and tracking Satish Kumar’s movements between leaving his home and reaching the railway station.
The police have confirmed he left for Tirupati court hearings two hours before his death but never reached the station, prompting investigators to re-trace his last movements.
