Is Ranga Reddy district affected by Left Wing Extremist (LWE) violence?
The district has not witnessed any Maoist violence in the last three years. Yet, its name figures in the list of LWE ‘violence-affected’ districts, maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). District officials are puzzled by this mention, but refrain to comment on it, other than asserting that Ranga Reddy district had not witnessed any Maoist activity in the last three years.
Ranga Reddy district, formed 34 years ago, surrounds the State capital and has literally metamorphosed Hyderabad into one of the most happening cities of India, as it became a centre of excellence not only in information technology but also in having training institutions of international repute.
With the rapid development in infrastructure and conference facilities, it is favoured destination for organisers of national and international conferences.
The mention of Ranga Reddy in the official list of ‘violence-affected’ districts may not have had any adverse impact on hosting of international conferences, but the organisers would indeed make a note of it and seek clarifications from the administration.
That Ranga Reddy is figuring in the list ‘violence-affected’ districts came to light on August 29, in the Rajya Sabha when the Minister of State for Home Jitendra Singh answered a query (unstarred question No. 1943) on Left Wing Extremism (LWE).
He elaborated that the districts which witnessed violent activities by LWE outfits were classified as ‘violence-affected’ and those which witnessed over-ground activity of LWE front organisations were put under the list of ‘under LWE influence’.
Districts listed
According to this list six districts -- Khammam, Karimnagar, Ranga Reddy, Visakhapatnam, Warangal and East Godvari -- are in the category of ‘violence-affected’. The other 11 districts ‘under LWE influence’ are: Adilabad, Anantapur, Chittoor, Guntur, Krishna, Nalgonda, Nellore, Nizamabad, Prakasam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam.
But how did Ranga Reddy district get into the list, though it had not witnessed any violence at all? Inquiries with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) revealed that its database speaks about an incident or arson reported on the intervening night of May 18 and 19 in 2011 in Dathupally village of Manchal mandal. Miscreants set fire to a door of a building owned by Venkatesh Goud and left a pamphlet calling for a bandh to protest against the arrest of a Maoist leader in Bihar. Cases were registered accordingly, but subsequent investigations revealed that there was no Maoist involvement in the issue.
Some ten days later, the police arrested Cherukuri Jangaiah and Sandhuri Jangaiah, who bore a grudge against Venkatesh Goud on some personal issue and set fire to the door.
They left a pamphlet in the name of Maoists just to scare him. The case was then compromised in the Lok Adalat too.
Facts ignored
Obviously, the registration of the case under different sections of law especially those dealing with Maoist violence were reported to the MHA. But the subsequent development of the case turning out to be a ‘pseudo-naxal’ was not taken into cognizance by the MHA database managers.