Justice for Sugali Preethi? Mother Stopped From Wheelchair Yatra, Moves High Court

Even after a year of the TDP-led NDA government assuming office, the family of Dalit minor girl Sugali Preethi continues to wait for justice.

During the election campaign, Jana Sena chief and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan had promised that justice would be delivered in the case of Preethi’s suspicious death. The incident had triggered widespread outrage, with social media users amplifying the demand under the hashtag #JusticeForSugaliPreethi. Pawan Kalyan had assured that this would be the first case to be resolved once the alliance came to power.

However, Sugali Preethi’s mother, Parvathy, has expressed disappointment over the government’s inaction and announced her decision to undertake a wheelchair yatra from Kurnool to Vijayawada, demanding justice for her daughter.

The case dates back to August 19, 2017, when Preethi was found dead in the hostel of Kattamanchi Ramalingareddy Residential School on the city’s outskirts. While the school management claimed she had died by suicide, her parents, Nayak and Parvathy Devi, alleged that she was sexually assaulted and murdered by the sons of the school head.

Following their complaint, a case was filed under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the POCSO Act, leading to the arrest of the accused. They were later released on bail, after which Preethi’s parents approached then Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. He ordered a CBI probe, but the agency failed to take up the case, prompting the parents to move the High Court on September 11, 2020. The court subsequently directed the CBI to respond.

In its counter, the CBI informed the court that it lacked resources to investigate further and urged dismissal of the petition that sought a central probe.

With the trial dragging on, Preethi’s mother once again resolved to go ahead with a wheelchair yatra from Kurnool to Vijayawada, but the police denied permission. She has now approached the High Court again, which is expected to deliver its verdict on August 22.

Parvathy has also accused the TDP government of shielding the accused despite what she calls “clear evidence” of her daughter’s rape and murder. She further alleged that Pawan Kalyan used the case for political mileage during elections but has since failed to act on his promises. The grieving parents say they have met both Pawan Kalyan and Home Minister V Anitha, but their appeals remain unanswered. Even as eight years have passed since the Sugali Preethi’s death, her parents continue to fight for justice.