Amaravati, Feb 26 (NationPress) A court in Andhra Pradesh has issued an arrest warrant for Bihar cadre IPS officer, M. Sunil Kumar Naik, in connection with the alleged custodial torture of K. Raghu Ramakrishna Raju, a former Member of Parliament and the current Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly. This arrest warrant was issued by the Guntur mobile court following a petition from the police.

Last year, Guntur police had served a notice to the IPS officer, instructing him to appear for questioning regarding the case filed against him and others. However, upon failing to comply with the notice, a police team recently traveled to Patna to apprehend him.

Naik, who holds the position of Director of Fire Services in Bihar, was taken into custody at his residence in Patna on Monday. It was reported that police entered Naik's home by climbing over the wall and arrested him without showing an arrest warrant, despite his request for one.

He was later presented in a local court to seek permission for his transfer to Andhra Pradesh, but the court denied the request for transit remand, citing that the Andhra Pradesh Police did not adhere to the necessary inter-state arrest protocols.

With the Guntur court's issuance of the arrest warrant, it is expected that the police team will return to Bihar to take the IPS officer into custody.

Raju was allegedly subjected to torture while in police custody in 2021, during the period when the YSR Congress Party was in power. He was arrested on allegations of making derogatory remarks against the then Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Elected to the Lok Sabha on a YSRCP ticket from Narsapuram in 2019, Raju later became a rebel. He was detained on May 14, 2021, at his Hyderabad residence for publicly criticizing the government and allegedly provoking communal unrest.

Before the 2024 elections, Raju joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and was subsequently elected to the Assembly, where he was appointed as Deputy Speaker.

In July 2024, the Guntur police registered an FIR against Jagan Mohan Reddy, three IPS officers, and others following a complaint from Raju, who alleged an attempt on his life while he was in police custody.

Naik, who was serving on deputation as the DIG of the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID), is listed as Accused No. 7 in the case filed at the Nagarampalem police station in Guntur. After a change in government in 2024, Naik returned to Bihar.

Meanwhile, the IPS officer has approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking anticipatory bail, denying any involvement in the alleged custodial torture of the former MP.