HYDERABAD, 14 May 2005 — Six Telugu Desam Party activists were killed when police opened fire to quell a riotous mob in Penukonda town in Anantapur district yesterday. A policeman also died in the mob violence that rocked the town. Cars and trucks were also burned as the irate mob ran riot.
At least two dozen police officers were injured along with more than a dozen supporters of the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), police said. The trouble started when police in Penukonda barred opposition activists from an administration office where a TDP candidate was filing nomination papers for a state by-election set for June 2.
TDP candidate Ms. Paritala Sunita, widow of the slain legislator Paritala Ravi, was at the Revenue Divisional Office to file her nomination papers. Thousands of TDP activists took out a procession in the town to go to the RDO Office. When the party workers tried to get near the office, the police tried to prevent them. Thereupon, they turned their ire on the police.
TDP workers hurled stones and bottles at police, beating up some of them, and attacked nearby shops. Police responded by opening fire, killing six TDP supporters, police said.
Deputy Inspector General of Police, N. Jayarami Reddy, said the mob had gone “berserk”. Every year, political violence claims dozens of lives in Andhra Pradesh, whose ruling Congress Party also heads the federal coalition.
On Jan. 26, unidentified gunmen killed the sitting TDP lawmaker from Penukonda, resulting in the need for a by-election and heightening political tension.
The TDP blamed the ruling Congress for the latest violence. “The Congress party wants to convert Andhra Pradesh into a graveyard,” TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu told a news conference in Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the violence and subsequent police firing in Penukonda town. He also directed Home Minister K. Jana Reddy and Director-General of Police Swaranjit Sen to closely monitor the situation.
Naidu strongly condemned the police firing on the party activists in Penukonda and appealed to party leaders, cadres and supporters to maintain calm and help to bring normalcy back to the town. He asked them to refrain from attacking or damaging private or public properties.
The state Congress Committee President K. Keshav Rao condemned the violence but held the Telugu Desam squarely responsible for the mayhem.
