Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur   

Killing political rivals a reality: APCLC report

ANANTAPUR: The Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC) has stated that getting the rivals eliminated in the name of police encounters had commenced in the district from the regime of Paritala Ravindra. The civil rights body has made the observation in the backdrop of the killing of one G. Rammohan, a rowdy-sheeter and a follower of late Ravindra, on May 22 in a police encounter.

A joint fact-finding committee of APCLC and the Organisation for Protection of Democratic Rights (OPDR) termed the encounter a fake one and came to conclusion that Rammohan was, in fact, murdered by the police. Throwing light on such killings in the fact-finding report State general secretary of APCLC Prof. S. Seshaiah and others alleged that Ravindra had got killed leaders of ROC, a splinter group of the then CPI (ML) PWG, with the cooperation of the police.

Several Congress leaders and activists, who were also factional leaders, had gone underground (into hiding) then fearing killing at the hands of the police in the name of encounters. After coming to power such Congress leaders were doing the same by getting the TDP activists killed at the hands of the police, the civil rights leaders alleged. Details of TDP men who were in the threat list had also appeared in a section of the press.

Running factions for political supremacy was an undemocratic practice in vogue in Rayalaseema for long and the killing of rivals in the name of encounters by leaders of parties in power with the cooperation from the police was a matter of grave concern now, they said in the report.

The role of police was also questionable. A few police officers too were cooperating with the factional-cum-political leaders for their selfish ends. The report also raised questions over the discriminatory functioning of a few Superintendents of Police worked in the district during the last 10 years.

Even the genuine political leaders were encouraging and grooming the elements with muscle power and criminal record, the APCLC report alleged. The situation was heading towards complete ruining of democratic values in politics. The report warned the police of losing faith of people if they continued to function with partisan attitude instead of independent functioning.

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