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The death of a two-month-old baby in Telangana has sparked outrage, with her family alleging that she was hurt in an altercation when a group of men from the Reddy community were beating up Ganesh, the infant’s father, who belongs to the Chakali (BC) community.
The dispute happened during the Kummera Mallikarjuna Swamy Jatara, a temple festival in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district on February 18. The baby’s mother Mounika, who is from a Scheduled Caste (SC), went to the festival along with her husband’s family members in the afternoon.
Srinivas Reddy, who was volunteering to manage the queue, allegedly shoved them, leading to an argument in which both sides allegedly abused each other. When Ganesh arrived in the evening and was informed of the incident, he sent a message on a Kummera village WhatsApp group accusing Srinivas Reddy of misbehaving with his wife, mother and sister, while allegedly using abusive language.
Following this, Srinivas Reddy and a group of Reddy men allegedly beat up Ganesh near the temple premises inside a room used to store coconuts. While both parties subsequently approached the police, the Chakalis alleged police initially favoured the Reddys by registering an FIR on their complaint, while only making a general diary entry for the BC group’s complaint.
Three days later on February 21, Mounika woke up and found her baby had died. The family has alleged that the baby was injured by one of the Reddy men in the scuffle. Police said they have registered a case of suspicious death, and are awaiting the post-mortem report before adding further charges.
Amid allegations of police bias, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Burri Srinivas said that when the two groups went to the police on February 18, Srinivas Reddy had a bleeding head injury, allegedly from Ganesh beating him with a stone or a metal rod. Ganesh has denied this allegation to the media. He alleged that he was taken into a room and beaten up by nearly 30 Reddy men.
The DSP said that the police registered an FIR as Srinivas Reddy’s injury was visible, whereas the BC group’s complaints of abuse and physical assault were non-cognisable and that the police were awaiting permission from a court to register an FIR.
With caste groups getting involved, police registered a case of suspicious death of the baby. Amid pressure, they also arrested Srinivas Reddy and two others, Madhusudhan Reddy and Srikanth Reddy, on charges of attempt-to-murder and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The DSP said that until then, police weren’t aware that the baby’s mother Mounika was from a Scheduled Caste.
The DSP said that after the baby’s death was reported, the police inspected her body and didn’t find any visible injuries. He said they are awaiting post-mortem examination results to know if there were underlying health problems, or if she died from an injury or any reason that could be connected to the altercation with the Reddys. He also stated that when the initial complaint was made on February 18, the family did not mention that the baby had been hurt.
However, the family has told the media that when the Reddy men were beating up her husband, Mounika went up to them holding her baby to plead with them to stop beating Ganesh as the baby would lose her father. Ganesh alleged that one of the Reddy men kicked the baby with the same force with which they were beating him.
The family has alleged ongoing caste discrimination against them by the Reddys in their village, and police bias towards the Reddys. They also alleged that the initial argument when they were in the queue started because Srinivas Reddy demanded money to let them in.
The Telangana Backward Classes Commission, SC ST Commission and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) have taken cognisance of the incident. While NHRC is investigating the case, the state BC Commission has asked the District Collector for a detailed report on the incident.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao visited Kummera village and consoled the family of the deceased infant. He met leaders and activists from various sections who have been protesting for justice and expressed solidarity with the victim’s family.
He demanded action against anyone found responsible, irrespective of their party affiliation. He specifically demanded that murder charges be filed against the eight accused involved in the attack and that they be arrested immediately.
Stating that the entire Telangana society has bowed its head in grief and anguish over the tragedy, he said that anyone who stands by the killers of the innocent child is unquestionably guilty.
KTR also demanded that the state government provide Rs 1 crore as compensation to the bereaved family.
Criticising the state government’s silence, KTR alleged that the government is attempting to mislead the investigation by misusing its authority and influencing the police. He termed the government’s inaction and the Chief Minister’s silence on the incident as “unforgivable.”