Amaravati, May 26: Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has accused current Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu of neglecting the case of Sugali Preethi, a 10th-grade student who was raped and murdered in a private school in Kurnool in 2017.
Reddy, the president of the YSR Congress Party, stated that the negligence of Naidu’s government has caused immense suffering to Preethi’s parents. He highlighted that despite the brutal murder of the student, the previous government failed to identify and punish the culprits.
“After our government came to power, we formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) at the request of her parents and advanced the investigation. We supported the family by providing them with a plot to build a house, five acres of agricultural land, and a government job for compensation. Additionally, we ordered a CBI investigation into the case at the family’s request,” Reddy said.
He further claimed that since Naidu returned to power, the case has once again been sidelined. Reddy pointed out that the CBI has stated it lacks sufficient staff and resources to effectively continue the investigation, emphasizing that the state government must cooperate fully to ensure justice. Instead, he accused the government of maintaining silence on the matter.
Reddy expressed his distress upon learning that Preethi’s parents had their pension halted simply for speaking out against the government’s inaction. He questioned, “With such solid evidence and scientific reports already available, is it not unjust for the state government to remain a bystander and ensure that the investigation reaches its logical conclusion?”
He assured the grieving parents that the YSR Congress Party would provide full legal assistance until justice is served for Sugali Preethi. The parents, Parvati and Raju Naik, met with Reddy at the YSR Congress Party’s central office in Tadepalli, appealing for justice in their daughter’s case. They expressed deep anguish over the lack of justice even after nine years, accusing the Naidu-led coalition government of completely neglecting the case.