Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur   

Police, jeep owners’ altercation sees another twist

ANANTAPUR: An altercation between the private jeep (taxi) owners and Sub Inspector of Police of town police station at Kadiri in the district on February 10 over parking of the vehicles in front of girls’ high school beside the NH-205 in the town and the intervention of the local legislator in the issue has snowballed into an issue of self-esteem for the police.

The town police station has almost become defunct with SI Shankar Naik and nine other constables going on leave on February 11. The station is now left with a head constable and an assistant SI. The SI, urban CI Mahabub Basha and DSP G. Sainath and the constables met Superintendent of Police M.S. Ravindra on Monday and Tuesday here and explained their versions separately.

The row began with the SI warning the jeep owners not to park their vehicles in front of the girls’ high school stating that it was causing problem to the traffic and some jeep drivers and their friends were allegedly indulging in eve-teasing of the school girls. The jeep owners immediately took the matter to legislator J. Ramaiah and the latter ‘summoned’ the SI to his house.

When the SI refused to go to the legislator’s place the latter rushed down to the police station and expressed anger over the police officer. In the meantime, the CI also rushed there and tried to pacify the legislator. The CI’s approach in the issue was learnt to have left the SI and his team gasping and peeved by the attitude of both the legislator and his immediate superior officer the SI went on leave.

The district police officers’ association also expressed concern over the political intervention in the law and order issues.

A large number of students led by different student unions staged protests in Kadiri on Monday demanding an apology from the legislator and protesting the apology allegedly rendered by the CI and DSP to the legislator.

Both the SI and constables on leave were learnt to have told the higher officers that they were not in a position to discharge their duties freely with political intervention in every issue.

The SP was learnt to have assured them of looking into the matter. Both the SP and DIG were learnt to have told them not to bow to the political intervention in their discharge of duties and instructed the constable to join the duties.

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