Terming the torture of villagers by police as unfortunate and cause of concern, Minister K. Taraka Rama Rao said that the State government has ordered an inquiry by a DIG-level officer into police high-handedness .
The Minister along with Telangana State Cooperative Apex Bank Chairman K. Ravinder Rao, Vemulawada legislator Ch. Ramesh Babu and others visited Vemulawada temple town on Tuesday where the torture victims are undergoing treatment . The Minister interacted with all the victims and inquired about the incident. He promised to provide corporate hospital treatment to all the victims by shifting them to Hyderabad. The minister later told newsmen that the victims narrated their tale of woes to him and he in turn assured the victims that the government would act on the report to be submitted by the officer.
Stating that the TRS government will not tolerate such incidents, he said that people angry over the death of villagers in accidents caused by sand-laden lorries had set fire to them. He said the police have registered cases against all the villagers, including dalits, tribals and BCs. Flaying the opposition parties, he asked how it could be called sand mafia when the government had earned more than ₹1,000 crore from sand mining.
“We have taken up removal of sand from Manair river as the government is eager to complete the Mid Manair reservoir to store about 10 tmc ft of water. If we store water, we cannot remove sand, besides, it is bringing revenue to the government,” he maintained. In three years, the TRS government had secured more revenue through sand mining than the total income generated by the erstwhile governments in the integrated A.P. in the last 50 years. “It is not sand mafia or illegal transportation of sand from the river,” he clarified. He found fault with the opposition parties for providing compensation to the victims and seeking votes in the 2019 elections.
