At last, retired IPS officer R Vijay Paul, who was facing the charges of torturing former MP and present Telugu Desam Party MLA from Undi constituency Kanumuru Raghu Ramakrishna Raju, appeared before the Andhra Pradesh crime investigation department police in the case.
Following a direction from the Supreme Court asking him to cooperate with the investigating officers, Vijay Paul came to the CID office at Mangalagiri on Friday evening.
He is now being grilled by the police on the complaint that he had physically tortured Raju during the police custody three and a half years ago.
On September 24, the Andhra Pradesh high court dismissed the anticipatory bail petition of R Vijay Paul, who was former additional superintendent of police in the CID in the case concerning the torture of Raju.
The court observed that when serious allegations are made against a senior police officer, the law demands a different and strict standard when considering a plea for pre-arrest bail and dismissed the petition.
Raju had lodged a complaint with Nagarampalem police in Guntur alleging that a murder attempt was made, besides subjecting him to third-degree custodial torture by the then CID officials, including its chief PV Sunil Kumar and then ASP Vijay Paul, at the behest of then chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Following the complaint, Paul moved the high court seeking anticipatory bail.
After the high court rejected his plea, he moved the Supreme Court which refused to stay the high court order and asked him to surrender before the police for questioning.
