In a significant development from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, police have concluded that serious sexual harassment allegations made against the son of Tribal Welfare Minister Gummadi Sandhya Rani and her private personal assistant were entirely fabricated. The investigation has led to the arrest of two individuals on charges of forging evidence and conspiring to defame the public figures.
Allegations and the Police Investigation
The case originated in November when a woman employee, G Triveni, who works as an office subordinate at the MPDO office in Saluru, filed a formal police complaint. She accused the minister's personal assistant, B Satish, and the minister's son of harassing her. To support her claims, she submitted purported WhatsApp chat screenshots as evidence. In her complaint, she also alleged that when she approached Minister Sandhya Rani for justice, she was verbally abused and threatened with dismissal from her job.
Following the wide circulation of these chat details on social media platforms, B Satish filed a counter-complaint at the Saluru police station. He firmly denied all accusations, stating he had neither harassed the woman nor accepted any bribe from her. This prompted a detailed police inquiry into the authenticity of the evidence.
Forensic Analysis Unravels the Conspiracy
Parvathipuram Manyam district Superintendent of Police S V Madhav Reddy spearheaded the investigation. A crucial step was sending the submitted WhatsApp chat evidence for forensic examination. The results were conclusive. The forensic reports confirmed that the profile photographs of B Satish and the minister's son had been misused on other mobile numbers. This was a deliberate attempt to create fake conversations and implicate them in a false controversy.
Based on this evidence, the police took swift action. They arrested the complainant, G Triveni, and her friend, Ch Devi Prasad, who works as a junior assistant at the Saluru municipal office. The duo faces serious charges including forgery, criminal conspiracy, extortion, defamation, and violations of the Information Technology Act.
Background and Motive
Delving into the background, police revealed that Triveni's husband, who was employed in the education department, tragically died during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. A mother of three, she subsequently applied for a government job on compassionate grounds. In her initial complaint, she had claimed that during this process, Satish approached her, demanding money to pay officials to expedite her appointment. She alleged she paid the amount and secured a clerk's position in December 2021.
However, the police investigation, backed by digital forensics, has now turned the tables, suggesting the harassment narrative was constructed with forged evidence. The arrests highlight the misuse of digital tools for personal vendetta or extortion and the importance of thorough forensic investigation in such sensitive cases.
The case has drawn considerable attention in Visakhapatnam and across Andhra Pradesh, underscoring the challenges public figures face from false accusations and the critical role of law enforcement in uncovering the truth.
