A look back into Emergency in Andhra Pradesh: 50th anniversary of the Girayipalli encounter

By Harsh Thakor* 

On the night of 25 July 1975, in the forests near Girayipalli village in the then Medak district of Andhra Pradesh, four young men were killed in what the police described as an armed encounter. According to the official account, the police had received intelligence that members of the Naxalite movement involved in prior violent incidents were hiding in the area. The police claimed that the group opened fire and threw bombs, prompting retaliatory firing in self-defense. After the exchange, four individuals were reportedly found dead, along with a cache of weapons and literature.

This version was widely reported in censored press outlets during the Emergency, a period when civil liberties and media freedom were heavily restricted. The incident occurred just 90 kilometres from Hyderabad, yet details emerged in newspapers several days later, primarily reproducing the police version. There was little information on the identities of those killed or whether their bodies were returned to their families.

Those killed included Surapaneni Janardhan, a final-year mechanical engineering student at the Regional Engineering College in Warangal, along with Lanka Murali Mohan Reddy, Vanaparthi Sudhakar, and Kolishetty Ananda Rao, all of whom had connections to the revolutionary student movement. All four were between 18 and 25 years old and had travelled to Medak to support agrarian mobilisations prior to the declaration of the Emergency in June 1975.

Reports later surfaced suggesting the four had been arrested days earlier and were in custody before being taken to the Girayipalli forest, tied to trees, and executed. Their bodies were allegedly cremated on site to destroy evidence. A fifth person, Bhikshapati, reportedly escaped and later served as a witness.

In the aftermath of the Emergency, questions about the incident led to the formation of a fact-finding committee led by Justice V.M. Tarkunde under the People’s Union for Civil Liberties and Democratic Rights (PUCL-DR). The committee investigated reports of over 70 such killings in Andhra Pradesh and concluded that the Girayipalli incident was a custodial execution. Following this, the central government appointed a judicial inquiry under Justice Vashishta Bhargava, a retired Supreme Court judge.

The Bhargava Commission held public hearings and collected testimony from 25 witnesses, including Bhikshapati. Physical evidence, including bullet marks on trees, corroborated witness accounts. Journalist Adiraju Venkateswara Rao also contributed evidence by recording the confession of a police officer involved, which was submitted to the commission by lawyer K.G. Kannabiran.

As the hearings progressed, the inquiry drew attention and generated public discussion about the nature of police encounters during the Emergency. However, after pressure from police officials, the Chief Minister requested the hearings be held in camera. Justice Bhargava refused and ultimately suspended the inquiry, also declining to release a partial report.

The Girayipalli incident remains one of the few cases in India where a formal judicial inquiry concluded that individuals were captured, tortured, and executed, rather than killed in a shootout. The case drew broader attention to allegations of extra-judicial killings and police impunity.

Surapaneni Janardhan, the central figure among the four killed, was born in 1950 in Garikaparru village, Krishna district. Despite suffering from chronic asthma since childhood, he was actively involved in student and community mobilisation. At Regional Engineering College, Warangal, he engaged in ideological activities and helped organise rallies and cultural programs focused on labour rights and social justice. He also contributed to efforts to popularise revolutionary literature and theatre among workers and students.

Janardhan and his associates reportedly carried out armed actions in June 1975, including attacks targeting landlords and moneylenders. These incidents led to increased police surveillance and their subsequent arrests.

Janardhan’s legacy influenced future generations of activists, including Cherukuri Rajkumar (also known as Azad), a spokesperson of the CPI (Maoist), and civil liberties advocate K. Balagopal. Both cited Janardhan as an early influence in their political journeys.

In 2012, Janardhan’s brother S.P. Mohan Rao published a biography titled Janahrudayam Janardhan, chronicling his life and the events surrounding the Girayipalli incident. The case remains a reference point in discussions on state violence and legal accountability in India.

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*Freelance journalist