ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — A 20-year-old Indian man was "brutally beaten" and exposed to other forms of abuse in St. Charles County by a man he called “very wealthy, powerful and influential in India," according to charging documents.
Venkatesh Reddy Sattaru, 35, and two other men were charged with trafficking for the purposes of slavery, kidnapping, abuse through forced labor, and multiple other charges in connection with the investigation that started in Defiance, Missouri, Wednesday.
Our I-Team found Sattaru has significant influence overseas, including ties to a political party.
Sattaru's website describes him as a member of a "renowned family with a business background and immense knowledge of business management."
Investigators said those connections made it even more difficult for the victim, believed to be his cousin, to escape.
According to court documents, the victim in the case told investigators that Sattaru was wealthy and a powerful man in India.
He allegedly has political and law enforcement connections overseas.
Investigators confirmed to the I-Team that the man pictured on this website is Sattaru.
One page describes him as a "warrior of Y.S.R.C.P" which translates to the Youth, Labour and Farmer Congress Party. The U.S. Library of Congress describes it as a centrist nationalist political party and the fifth largest in India. It's only existed for a decade.
The site also said Sattaru formed and ran a task force to protect people members of the party.
The Instagram page linked from the website has photographs of its members with the current Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.
That page calls Sattaru a die-hard follower and classifies him as a politician.
Other videos on the website show public gatherings and rallies across the region.
Charging documents allege the other two suspects in the case, 27-year-old Nikhil V. Penmatsa, and 23-year-old Sravan Penumetcha, were also considered wealthy.
That is why the victim in the case was afraid to go to police, “fearing he would be killed,” according to court documents.
Police said Sattaru, Penmatsa and Penumetcha were all in the county legally.
This is a fresh investigation, so some details are still unknown -- including this man's connection to our area.
5 On Your Side confirmed the main suspect owned three homes in the St. Louis area, one in Defiance, one in O'Fallon, and another in Dardenne Prairie.