Andhra Pradesh - Guntur   

Caste feuds a cause for concern

GUNTUR: Gone are the days when polling booths in naxal-affected villages used to be identified as ‘hypersensitive’. The threat perception has changed now and caste feuds are the most dreaded during the ensuing elections. More than 60 per cent of the booths are considered troublesome now. .

According to the district police department, ‘hypersensitive’ booths will be those that have a history of faction feuds.

Faction rivalry may take the front seat, as extremism has almost been rooted out in the district, and a majority of the disturbances could be from those manufacturing native bombs or using them on rival groups.

Of the 938 booths identified as hypersensitive in the 17 Assembly constituencies, only 165 have been classified as extremist-affected booths. The remaining may pose a law and order problem due to caste-based feuds. This new category of booths is a cause for worry for the police now.

Police Station House Officers and DSPs have been asked to visit the booth areas and send a feedback to the headquarters. With the evolving situation, the categorisation of different booths might change in the days to come, according to police officials. There are 1,054 sensitive booths identified and the police are putting all efforts in executing pending non-bailable warrants.

The police have rounded up 2,621 persons under Section 107 and bound them over for Rs.1 lakh initially and increased the surety amount to Rs.2 lakhs.

The police officers this time seem to be in a mood to attach the properties of the bound-over people or those standing guarantee for them if they jumped the limitations. Some 264 persons with rowdy sheet have also been bound over in the past one week.

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