VIJAYAWADA: Tension prevailed at the Freedom Fighters' Association hall near Bandar Locks on Friday when associates of Superwhizz Academy director M.A. Gupta entered into a wordy duel with members of the Jana Vignana Vedika (JVV) during a meeting organised by the latter.

Vedika activists organised the meeting to protest against the `humiliation' meted out by representatives of Superwhizz Academy to the parents and relatives of Dubagunta Suresh, a student of the academy who died under suspicious circumstances at Guntur in December last.

In the case the police filed last month, Mr. Gupta was charged with humiliating Suresh's parents and relatives when they came to the institution to seek ex gratia payment. Mr. Gupta was later arrested by the police and released on bail.

Even as several representatives of student unions, human rights activists and advocates of civil liberties who attended the meeting condemned the incident, Mr. Gupta, who was not invited, entered the meeting hall and sought an opportunity to explain his point of view.

Charge against parents

JVV State vice-president Jampa Krishna Kishore, who presided over the meeting, conceded and gave five minutes to Mr. Gupta to address the meeting. Accusing Suresh's parents of blackmailing him, Mr. Gupta claimed that he did not make a mistake by humiliating the kin of the deceased student.

The participants of the meeting began raising objections when Mr. Gupta tried to make some slandering remarks against the deceased student. But Mr. Gupta continued his speech and even made an attempt for a power-point presentation. The organisers prevented Mr. Gupta from making the presentation, resulting in angry exchange of words between JVV activists and Mr. Gupta's associates.

Left with no option but to stop his speech halfway through, Mr. Gupta left the meeting hall in huff even as the organisers wanted him to be present till the meeting ended. Some of the associates of Mr. Gupta began distributing pamphlets to the participants, charging Suresh's parents with demanding Rs. 15 lakh as ex gratia.

The meeting later passed a resolution to send letters addressed to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, appealing to him to ask the State Government to cancel the recognition of the academy. The participants also decided to continue agitation till the Government took action against Mr. Gupta.

Representatives of the Progressive Democratic Students Union, the Students Federation of India, the Organisation of People's Democratic Rights, the Lok Satta, the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee, the Human Rights Forum and the Bezwada Bar Association participated in the meeting.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail