Clashes break out between villagers and police in Amaravati

The police said that they had detained some people who were trying to move towards the shrine despite restrictions.
Police arrested villagers as they tried to take protest rally at Mandadam and Thullur in Amaravathi on Friday| Prasant Madugula
Police arrested villagers as they tried to take protest rally at Mandadam and Thullur in Amaravathi on Friday| Prasant Madugula

VIJAYAWADA:   Tension prevailed in Thullur, a village in Amaravati region, as police allegedly lathi-charged women who arrived in huge numbers to take part in a rally supporting Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi, which is protesting against the proposal for relocating the capital.

The police also prevented scores of women marching towards Vijayawada from Mandadam and Venkatapalem to pray before Goddess Kanaka Durga. As the agitators tried to jump the barricades, the police pushed them resulting in the scuffle. Some women suffered minor injuries.

While one was reportedly admitted to a hospital after she suffered from suffocation, another woman got her leg fractured in the chaos. 

Objecting to the police action, the women protesters and farmers raised slogans against the Chief Minister and argued with the police on not being allowed to visit the temple. They also demanded an explanation on why the police imposed prohibitory orders when they were expressing their resentment in a peaceful manner. "To express our pain, we took out a peaceful rally from Thullur to Kanaka Durga to pray to the goddess for our future," Thullur villagers said. 

Responding to the allegations levelled by the women agitators, Guntur Rural SP Ch Vijaya Rao maintained the police only did their duty and prevented the protesters from moving ahead as Section 144 of the CrPC and Section 30 of The Police Act were in place, and such rallies would create law and order problem. "Police have not attacked anyone during the scuffle and no one among those who were taken into custody has died. They are making false allegations and provoking others to join the agitation," SP Vijaya Rao said. 

Meanwhile, National Commission for Women has taken suo moto cognizance of the allegations of women being brutally beaten up. “We are sending a fact-finding team (to the State) on Sunday,” NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma tweeted. 

On the other hand, Vijayawada police took TDP and JAC leaders into preventive custody to foil the call given for a massive rally from Benz Circle to the Durga temple. Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, ex-MLA Bode Prasad, MLA Gadde Rammohan Rao and others were placed on house arrest. MP Kesineni Nani and ex-minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao were arrested for protesting near City Armed Reserve Grounds.

NCW to send team

National Commission for Women has taken suo moto cognizance of the allegations of women farmers being brutally beaten up by the AP Police.

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