Date:06/12/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/12/06/stories/2004120605230400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

14 hurt in group clash

By Our Correspondent

KAKINADA, DEC. 5. Row over the SC categorisation issue led to a clash between rival groups of the Scheduled Castes in the S. Atchyutapuram-Narasannagar area in the town on Saturday night.

Fourteen persons, eight of them critically, were injured as the groups clashed using iron roads, sticks and knives. All the injured were admitted to hospital. A police picket was posted in the area.

According to the sub-divisional police officer, S. Baburao, trouble began when a person, running a chicken shop and belonging a section of the Scheduled Caste, was assaulted by two persons of a rival group.

Both groups, in a bid to resolve the issue, gathered at the house of the Municipal Vice-Chairperson, Munjarapu Jhansilakshmi, who is also a Dalit.

When her husband Sriramulu was trying to pacify the groups, he was attacked with a knife and it triggered violence.