Lockup death in Vizianagaram raising many eyebrows among the authorities

On 11 February 2022, a lockup death occurred at Vizianagaram. Beta Rambabu (42), held at the Nellimarla Police Station in Vizianagaram, was found dead in his cell. The police then shifted the body to the Vizianagaram Government Hospital for postmortem. Though it was declared as a suicide, the relatives of the deceased person have blamed the police for the death. The lockup death has raised the eyebrows of the Vizianagaram District authorities, who have ordered further investigation into this matter.

Beta Rambabu, alias Suresh, was arrested by the police, on 10 February 2022, at 8 pm, on the charges of a battery theft that had taken place at the Employment Guarantee Scheme office. He had been taken into custody and locked up at the Nellimarla Police Station. As per the statements of the police officers, the prisoner committed suicide by hanging himself. The police claim that this had happened at 4 am on Friday i.e. 11 February. However, the relatives have claimed that Rambabu was beaten up excessively by the police officers, which eventually led to a painful death.

This lockup death has caught the attention of the Vizianagaram District Collector, A. Suryakumari IAS. She has ordered the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), Bhavani Shankar, to conduct a magisterial inquiry. The RDO had reached the Vizianagaram Government Hospital and examined the cadaver in the mortuary. Upon gathering complete information regarding the case, the RDO has been instructed, by the District Collector, to submit a detailed report. The deceased person, Beta Rambabu, was a resident of Shantinagar in Vizianagaram District and a father to two children.