A 34-year-old poultry farmer, who suffered grievous injuries when police personnel lobbed tear-gas shells during last month’s Telangana March, died while undergoing treatment in a corporate hospital on Thursday.
Hailing from Ramagundam in Karimnagar district, G. Raji Reddy ran a chicken centre in the Kukatpally Housing Board Colony. He was an active participant in the Telangana agitations and managed to enter Necklace Road where the march was organised.
But, during the melee between the police and the March participants, he got injured on his temple when a tear gas shell was lobbed to disperse them. He was immediately rushed to Gandhi Hospital and later to Mediciti Hospital, where he succumbed to injuries on Thursday.
Family members also claimed that his health had deteriorated because of inhaling the smoke emanating from the tear-gas shells. The police shifted the body to Gandhi Hospital mortuary for an autopsy, even as several Telangana leaders, including Joint Action Committee chairman M. Kodandaram visited and paid tributes.
The news of Reddy’s death has sparked angry reactions. The Osmania University Students Joint Action Committee (OUJAC) leader, P. Kailash Neta, said that effigies of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy would be burnt at all district headquarters of Telangana in protest.
Special Correspondent adds: The TRS and Telangana Joint Action Committee reacted strongly to the death of Raji Reddy. Both said that they would finalise the action plan over his death on Friday. A former MP of TRS, B. Vinod Kumar, questioned the authority of the police to lob tear-gas towards the participants of the march after having been given the permission to the march. He said that the action of police indicated suppression of civil rights of citizens.
Inquiry demanded
The JAC demanded a judicial inquiry into the firing and criminal action against the concerned police officers. JAC leaders G. Deviprasad Rao and C. Vittal demanded that the government treat Raji Reddy’s death as a murder and pay ex-gratia to his dependents. Meanwhile, the JAC of Telangana employees gave a call on Thursday for ‘Chalo Hyderabad’ in December in protest against the delay in lifting the cases against them in connection with their strikes last year and recently. The organisation will also hold a dharna near Indira Park on November 9 and Collectorates in all Telangana districts on November 14.