Three senior IPS officers have been suspended after being accused of misconduct in the wrongful arrest and harassment of a Mumbai-based actress, Kadambari Jethwani. The officers – former intelligence chief PSR Anjaneyulu, former Vijayawada police commissioner Kanthi Rana Tata, and former deputy commissioner of police Vishal Gunni – are accused of plotting with YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader Kukkala Vidyasagar to falsely implicate the actress in a criminal case to force her to drop a sexual assault case she filed in Mumbai.
The Andhra Pradesh government had suspended these officers after conducting an investigation that exposed negligence and abuse of authority. It is said that police received verbal orders from Anjaneyulu to arrest Jethwani, despite the fact that there was no sufficient evidence or legal processes were followed.
The actress was arrested on February 2, 2024, along with her elderly parents for cheating and demanding money by threatening to use forged documents from Vidyasagar. Before they were released on bail, the family was detained in jail for 42 days. Jethwani’s story started when she reported Vidyasagar for harassment and threatening her.
She accused him of perjuring himself in an attempt to have her and her family arrested for forgery as a way of getting back at her for taking him to court. From her testimony, she and her parents were physically and mentally abused by the police, who told them more charges would be preferred against them if she did not withdraw her case.
The investigation of the conduct of the suspended officers was conducted after Jethwani officially filed a complaint online in August 2024. The study revealed that the officers had not only ignored the normal procedures of investigations but also arrogance by arresting people based on unconfirmed information.
Vidyasagar was arrested on September 20, 2024, after he had been on the run for weeks and has been taken into judicial custody till October 4. The case has got much media attention and public interest concerning the police conduct and accountability in Andhra Pradesh.
