In June 2023, the Tenali 11th Additional Divisional Jurisdiction Court ruled that 13 individuals be held accountable for their roles in the gruesome mob lynching incident dating back to 2016 in Guntur and granted them life imprisonment as punishment.

The mob lynching incident

The ruthless mob lynching took place in the Adavuladeevi village of Nizampatnam Mandal in Guntur and unfolded when Vemula Sri Sai and his friend, Kuna Pavan Kumar got a distressing call from Sri Sai’s friend, Shaik Jasmin. The two young men hurried to her residence as soon as they heard from her. Jasmin, plagued by an unwanted impending marriage, had confided her intent to end her own life. Tragically, upon their arrival, they bore witness to her lifeless form.

The situation spiraled into a maelstrom of misunderstanding and accusation as Shaik Sadullah, Jasmin’s brother, pointed fingers at Sri Sai and Pavan Kumar, alleging their involvement in Jasmin’s tragic fate. They were also accused of sexually assaulting Jasmin. Inflamed by this suspicion, neighbours, and relatives of Jasmin subjected the young men to a brutal and unrelenting barrage of physical abuse, employing sticks and belts to inflict torment upon them.

As the fury of the mob escalated, cricket bats replaced the broken sticks, ushering in a new level of savagery. The onslaught disregarded the victims’ condition, as Sri Sai collapsed. The young men were stripped and taken outside, tied to a tree, and again subjected to abuse. The perpetrators’ cruelty knew no bounds, as they exacerbated the torment by dousing the young men’s eyes with chili powder, intensifying their agony.

In the throes of their ordeal, Pavan Kumar recounted the brutality they endured. He detailed to The Indian Express how the mob would pour water on them as they were nearing loss of consciousness and then again relentlessly resume the beating. Regrettably, Sri Sai succumbed before the authorities arrived. 

The case & judgement

Sai’s mother had asserted that if the police had acted more promptly and not delayed their investigation in the village, Sai might have survived. Cases of murder and attempted murder were filed against Sadullah and multiple villagers. Police then filed a case under IPC sections 147, 148, 302, 307, 342 r/w 149, and 21 individuals were arrested.

Public prosecutor D Mohan Reddy effectively substantiated the charges against the accused. Of the 21, four of them passed away during the trial and four others were relieved of the charges. In total, 13 of the accused were given life imprisonment for their heinous crime. 

This lynching case has all but disappeared from public consciousness, whereas the deaths of Junaid Khan (over a train seat, wherein the madrasa student and his brother reportedly initiated the dispute) and Tabrez Khan (a thief who was thrashed by public after being caught red-handed, and later died in police custody) are seared into our collective memory due to the mass outrage and repeated coverage by mainstream media, ‘secular’ politicians and intelligentsia. This is how narratives are built and Hindus are gaslit.