ANANTAPUR: Tension prevailed in Chukkaluru village on Sunday where Congress leader P. Kulasekhar Reddy was charred to death in an orchard belonging to a CPI activist, as the Congress supporters from the village refused to take away the remains of the charred body.

About 100 women Congress supporters sat around the burnt car and refused to take away the remains, demanding the police to release 50 men taken into custody, holding them responsible for the arson in the village on Saturday, in retaliation for the killing. Efforts of the police to pacify the villagers did not bear fruit till late in the evening.

Even DIG of Police of Anantapur range N. Jayarami Reddy and SP Sanjay Kumar Jain's efforts to convince the villagers for shifting the remains failed.

Brother of the deceased, P. Vasudeva Reddy, a Congress MPTC, alleged that the arrests of the Congress supporters in the village were influenced by the SP, who, he alleged, wanted to settle personal scores with Minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy.

Talking to newspersons on Sunday he alleged the police beat the Congress activists badly after taking them into custody. He wanted cases booked against them under Section 307 of the IPC.

CID probe demanded

Meanwhile, district secretary of Communist Party of India M.V. Ramana and deputy secretary C. Jaffer demanded a CID investigation into the case.

The CPI leaders also sought action against those responsible for arson in the village - in which six houses, five tractors, two two-wheelers and a public telephone booth - belonging to CPI supporters were burnt.

Further, they demanded compensation for the property loss.

The CPI leaders saw a conspiracy behind the killing of Kulasekhar Reddy. Meanwhile, Vishwanatha Reddy was taken into custody by the police after they sensed a threat to his life on Saturday. It was Mr. Vishwanatha Reddy who informed the fire services department about the "fire" in his orchard, after he was alerted about it by nearby brick-makers on Friday night.

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