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Arson case: Andhra police start probe into Anantapur ashram activities

On September 15, followers of Acharya Prabodhananda Yogeeswarlu, who founded the ashram at Chinna Polamada village in the district, attacked a group of villagers during Ganesh immersion.

One villager died and at least 45 others received serious injuries in the attack by the ashram’s inmates

Five days after violence and arson broke out in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district, with the followers of Swamy Prabodhananda ashram and locals clashing during a Ganesh immersion procession, the district police have launched a probe into the activities of the ashram after they found that its inmates had armed themselves with machetes, hatchets, axes, sickles and iron rods, which they allegedly used during the rampage.

On September 15, followers of Acharya Prabodhananda Yogeeswarlu, who founded the ashram at Chinna Polamada village in the district, attacked a group of villagers during Ganesh immersion. Police said that the inmates of the ashram objected to the villagers throwing flowers and gulal at them during the procession, which resulted in a fight.
One villager died and at least 45 others received serious injuries in the attack by the ashram’s inmates, who allegedly set tractors, cars and two-wheel also ers on fire. Police imposed Section 144 in the area prohibiting unlawful assembly as tension escalated.

Anantapur SP G Ashok Kumar told The Indian Express that a SIT, headed by Deputy SP of Central Crime Station (Anantapur), is probing into the activities of the ashram’s inmates and why they had amassed the weapons.

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“The team will probe into the cause and motive for the violence and identify the culprits who instigated the attack. It will also find out the activities that the ashram and the inmates are involved in. We have registered several cases against the ashram and some of the inmates who indulged in the violence,’’ he said.

The ashram, known as Krishna Mandiram, is run by Acharya Yogeeswarlu, who promotes Thraitha Theorem Bhagavad Gita. Officials said that as the ashram, which was founded in 1978, started expanding in the last few years, following which it came into conflict with the two adjacent villages.

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The ashram authorities told police that they had kept the weapons for self-defence as the villagers were constantly threatening them and often pelted stones or damaged their properties. At least 10 persons were taken into custody for last week’s violence.

First uploaded on: 21-09-2018 at 04:27 IST
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