Lock-up death at Bandi Atmakur alleged

By Our Staff Reporter

NANDYAL, OCT. 13. Mystery persists over the death of 20-year-old Harijana Peddninti Tirupalu, whose body was recovered from the premises of Bandi Atmakur police station in Kurnool district on Thursday.

The Superintendent of Police, Mr. P.S.R. Anjaneyulu, denied the allegation that the police had beaten him to death, and clarified in a statement that the police had nothing to do with the death. On the other hand, the parents of the victim and leaders of the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi alleged that the youth was tortured to death by two constables.

The outcome of a post-mortem examination was expected to pinpoint the cause of the death and resolve the mystery.

Amidst tension, the body was buried by relations on Friday after the SP convinced them to call off an agitation, and promised action against the constables, if found guilty. An as an immediate step, the two constables - Subbaiah and Ramudu - were shifted to Nandyal and attached to the office of the DSP. The Assistant Sub-inspector, Mr. Latif, who had allegedly made some remarks that incited the public during the demonstration, was shifted to the Armed Reserve Unit at Kurnool.

Angered by the death, the relations of the victim and villagers demonstrated before the police station on Thursday. The agitators demanded the arrest of the constables. As the situation went out of hands, senior police officers rushed to the village and brought the situation under control. They conceded the demand of the agitators to conduct the post-mortem by two doctors in the village itself.

The sleepy village on the Atmakur-Nandyal highway woke up to the news of the death of the youth on Thursday. The owner of a field close to the police station noticed the body on the tomb in a corner and alerted the villagers. Only an iron fence exists between the plot and the police station. The body bore injuries on the right leg and the smell of pesticide was coming from the mouth.

According to reports, the two constables, attached to the Bandi Atmakur police station, picked up Tirupalu from his house at Kottala, a Scheduled Caste locality of the town, in the early hours of Tuesday accusing him of indulging in gambling. He along with four others were said to have run away on seeing the police a day earlier. The parents of the youth - Mr. Balanna and Mrs. Nagamma -said their son had not returned since then. Meanwhile, the Inspector, Mr. Sayed Vali, and the Sub- Inspector, Mr. Y. Venkateswarlu, who was the Station House Officer, said the arrested were let off the same day after securing personal bonds and asked to be prepared for appearing before the court.

The parents alleged that the two constables had beaten their son to death in the police station.

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Section  : Southern States
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