For weeks, 55-year-old Gade Vijayalakshmi has lived in a state of suspended animation, running from pillar to post, searching police stations and mortuaries in Vijayawada for any sign of her 25-year-old son Sai Krishna.
All she remembers is a chilling directive allegedly given to her by Krishnalanka Circle Inspector Nagaraju on May 9: “Buy a funeral garland.”