VIJAYAWADA: TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has appealed to the Director-General of Police (DGP) to order a high-level inquiry to nab the persons responsible for the suicide of Dalit youth Om Pratap in Chittoor district.
In a letter to the DGP on Wednesday, Naidu stressed the immediate need to check the call lists of Om Pratap’s phone to find out who issued life threats to him before he took the extreme step.
“It was because of the ruling YSRC leaders’ threats over wide circulation of a video on the social media that the Dalit youth ended his life,” he alleged.
The TDP chief said it was saddening to witness the spurt in attacks on Dalits under the present government.
“It was equally disheartening to see the police inaction on one hand and a section of police are conniving with the ruling YSRC leaders to attack, harass and threaten Dalits on the other. As a result, the attacks on Dalits are continuing unabated,’’ he alleged.
“Om Prathap used to earn his livelihood by driving an auto rickshaw in Madanapalle town. Prathap has recorded his frustration with the YSRC government on a video and the same was circulated widely across Telugu people,” Naidu mentioned in the letter.The TDP chief said that the ruling party leaders in general and Punganur MLA and Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy in particular have reportedly made many threat calls to Om Prathap.
“Hence, it is essential to probe the call list of the deceased,” he demanded.