Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur   

Decline in faction clashes in Anantapur

File photo

Violent end: Former MLA late Paritala Ravi. -

ANANTAPUR: The gruesome killing of Moddu Seenu, a key accused in the Paritala Ravindra murder case, in the district jail barrack here on November 9 has added another bloody chapter to the factional violence in Anantapur district.

Though Moddu Seenu did not belong to Anantapur, his alleged role in Paritala Ravi’s murder and his own murder in jail, links him to the factional-cum-family rivalries in the district. But for his involvement in the murder case, he would have nothing to do with the factional violence in the district.

Rivalries between factions, families and political enemies in this backward Rayalaseema district were always enmeshed in violence. Starting with ‘Palegars’ (local warlords holding sway over masses and their livelihoods in small areas) since the times prior to the Vijayanagara Kingdom, violence has been the major aspect in gaining social and economical supremacy.

After the emergence of TDP, factional leaders had another strong political platform in addition to the Congress to exploit the support of administrative machinery for their personal ends.

The entry into politics by Paritala Ravi, whose family was already engaged in a rivalry with a few families in Penukonda and Dharmavaram areas, in 1994 led to complete domination of his group in factional politics and violence in the district.

Almost all his political and factional opponents and their key followers were eliminated by 1999, since when the factional violence has been on a steady decline in the district. However, once the Congress returned to power in 2004, the violence went up sharply for about two years and Paritala Ravi was himself killed.

Ever since the Paritala Ravi group became weak, the graph of factional violence has been on a sharp decline for the last two years, except for stray incidents. In all, 24 leaders and activists of TDP and nine leaders and activists of Congress fell to factional violence in the district since the Congress came to power in 2004.

Superintendent of Police M.K. Singh stated that there has been significant fall in factional violence in the last couple of years.

“In fact, there has been no faction-related violence during the last eight months,” he said.

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

Stories in this Section

WB-aided road project advanced
Collector’s directions on grievances
‘Congress, TD envious of PR popularity’
Cinema hall owners rapped on licence renewal
Decline in faction clashes in Anantapur

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu