The alleged police torture of Dalits in Telangana’s Rajanna-Sircilla district has triggered a massive controversy, with Dalit organisations , human rights activists and political parties, demanding the suspension of district Superintendent of Police Vishwajit Kampati.
On Wednesday, members of the BJP met victims of the incident, and demanded the suspension of the district SP, Crime Control Station CI B Ravinder, and 18 police constables for allegedly detaining eight villagers from Nerella in Thangalapalli mandal and subjecting them to third degree torture.
The entire incident began after a sand lorry hit and killed B Bhudaiah of Nerella village on July 2. This death, had triggered off massive anger, as this was the fourth such death from nearby villages.
Following this, agitated locals reportedly set as many as four sand lorries ablaze, after holding a protest on the same day.
Locals alleged that the police visited their houses after the incident, and picked up eight men.
Last week, the family members of the eight victims submitted a representation to Telanagana DGP Anurag Sharma, claiming that the police had booked ‘illegal’ and false cases against them, after picking them up from their houses, and threatening their family members, TNIE reported.
With the issue snowballing into a major controversy, Congress leaders too visited the victims earlier this week, while they were undergoing treatment at a government hospital in Karimanagar.
The Congress delegation led by SC Cell leader Arepally Mohan expressed shock over the alleged torture of the villagers for “two days in an unknown location”.
TPCC working president Mallu Batti Vikramarka, who was accompanied by Jagitial MLA T Jeevan Reddy, demanded a probe by a sitting High Court judge, after paying a visit to the victims on Wednesday.
Dalit organisations have also been up in the arms following the incident, and demand that a case be registered against the police.
The BJP demanded a case under IPC 307 (Attempt to murder) and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and threatened to launch a bigger agitation if the demands of the victims were not met.