Protesters lathicharged at two places

By Our Staff Reporter

KHAMMAM, JUNE 13. Fifteen persons were hurt, two of them seriously, as the CPI(M)-sponsored protest against the power tariff hike turned violent in Khammam on Tuesday. The protesters, who made a vain attempt to gherao the Minister for Prohibition and Excise, Mr. Tummala Nageswara Rao, were lathicharged by the police. Some police personnel, including two sub-inspectors, were injured as some of the protesters hurled stones on the police.

A curfew-like situation prevailed in the Mayuri centre, the venue of the protest, as CPI(M) workers made repeated attempts to burn effigies of the Chief Minister, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu.

Police personnel were deployed heavily at the venue right from the morning as a precautionary measure. The CPI(M) workers, who sought to assemble on the roadside, were either rounded up or dispersed. Some of the party leaders were picked up from the nearby lodges and shops. The effigies they sought to burn were snatched away and destroyed by the police.

As the last ditch effort, a group of protesters defied the warning of the police and set afire the effigy of the Chief Minister and the World Bank chief. Some of the protesters threw their shirts in the fire. The police plunged into action immediately after the CPI(M) workers sought to block the road and gherao the Minister, who was on the way to the town to attend a review meeting on `Neeru Meeru.'

The police effort to quell the protesters resulted in a confrontation with them. They whisked away whoever came in the way of the Minister's vehicle. As the Minister's vehicle was diverted to the Roads and Buildings Department guest house, another batch of the CPI(M) workers tried to follow him. The police chased them as they tried to gain entry into the guest house and resorted to a lathicharge as the situation appeared to be going out of control.

Two CPI(M) workers, Mr. Vikram and Mr. Annavarapu Kanakaiah, who received severe injuries, were hospitalised. Many others, including Mr. Lenin, Mr. Samineni Rama Rao, Mr. Erra Srinivas, Mr. Dasari Nagaih and Mr. Satyanarayana, were beaten up. A CPI leader, Mr. Jakkula Lakshmaiah who joined the protest subsequently along with his partymen was also attacked by the police. The sub inspectors of Khammam one town and two town, Mr. Surender and Mr. Surender Reddy, were also injured as they were hit by stones hurled by the protesters.

According to a report from Karimnagar, the dharna programme of the Left parties there turned violent with the police resorting to a lathicharge to disperse the defiant protestors.

The nine Left parties took out a massive rally with an effigy of the Chief Minister from Maqdhoom Bhavan to the RTC bus stand. When the rally reached the One Town police station, the police, who were present in strength, obstructed the rally, stating that they had not taken permission.

When the police refused to allow the rally to proceed towards RTC bus stand, the CPI town secretary, Mr. Roop Singh, snatched a bottle of kerosene being carried by a cadre to set fire to the effigy and tried to self-immolate by dousing himself with kerosene. Immediately, the police pounced on him and took him into custody. Several other leaders were also arrested. When the agitators protested, the police resorted to a lathicharge and dispersed the mob.

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