The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Police leave no stone unturned!

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Police leave no stone unturned!

B.V.S. Bhaskar

With Maoists issuing a threat to put spokes in the Bhoopatipalem work, the police thought it fit to take the plaque in their custody.

IT'S GONE: No sign of the plaque of the irrigation project in the agency area of East Godavari district. — Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

RAJAHUMUNDRY: The police take accused persons into custody if a case is reported or any crime is committed.

But the Rampachodavaram police have gone a step further, it seems! Believe it or not, a lifeless plaque is in their custody! The Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, laid the foundation for Bhoopatipalem reservoir in Maoist-hotbed of Rampachodavaram mandal in November last.

During that period, local Maoists issued a statement that the reservoir was against interests of tribals and they would leave no stone unturned to see that construction would not begin. The special branch police alerted the Rampachodavaram DSP, V. Satyanarayana, to look into the matter and deploy mobile parties to keep a watch on the project work

. The police suspected that Maoists would first blast the plaque arranged by irrigation officials to mark the foundation-laying ceremony. So, they took the plaque in their custody and kept it somewhere near the project site. In fact, when a team of engineering experts and the Major Irrigation Minister, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, went to the project site, the Minister enquired about the foundation stone. Meanwhile, the district police arranged a police outpost near Polavaram project site to see that there would be no threat to the project from Maoist groups.

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