Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Police lathicharge agitating CPI activists

By Our Staff Reporter

VIJAYAWADA March 26. Five CPI activists including three women agitating against the power tariff hike were injured in a police lathicharge at the AP Transco office gate near Swaraj Maidan here on Tuesday.

About 500 activists staged a dharna in front of the Superintending Engineer's office gate for about one hour. The activists demanded the police on bandobust to allow a delegation to enter the compound for submitting a memorandum. Two sub-inspectors on duty said they had orders not to allow anybody inside. There was an argument between the policemen and the activists. At this point some women activist tried to push open the door, a few of them even tried to climb across the gate. At the same time some men jumped the compound wall and went inside.

The police used canes to stop the activists from entering through the gate. Women activists who were in the front were beaten up. The other activists reacted to the caning of woman activists and pandemonium followed. The 20 and odd police on bundobust beat up the activists indiscriminately. Party workers, B. Satyavathi, B. Sitamma, K. Vijaya Lakshmi, Viswanathapalli Ravi and G.V. Raju were admitted in the Government General Hospital. The former corporator, Donepudi Sankar, party workers, Appala Naidu and several others suffered lathi blows.

There was another confrontation between the police and activists at the entrance into the Trasco SE office building. The police were able to effectively stop the activists from entering the building. The activists raised slogans till the ACP, P. Krishna Rao, entered the scene. A few leaders were allowed to enter the building to submit a memorandum.

P. Gowtham Reddy, party coopted member of the VMC council, who was present, alleged that lathicharge was unprovoked. "Submitting a memorandum was the general practice, but the police prevented it.'' The CPI city assistant secretary, P. Surya Rao, and Mahila Samakya leader, T. Sakuntala, were some of the leaders who participated in the dharna.

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