Tempers ran high for the third day at Kankipadu police station on the outskirts of Vijayawada over the mysterious death of a youth, D. Ravi Teja (23), on Friday. Supporters of the accused demanded a CID enquiry into the death.
Hundreds of Punadipadu villagers and kin of the accused in Ravi Teja’s murder case staged a ‘rasta roko’, alleging that the death of the youth was altered into a teasing and murder case. They raised slogans saying the SC Atrocity Act and Nirbhaya Act do not apply to the incident. On April 19 midnight, Teja met with an accident and died on April 24. The girl, who complained that Teja was injured in a road mishap, changed her version. She alleged that three persons, G. Venkanna, G. Ramprasad and V. Venkateswara Rao, had teased her and in the melee, the trio deliberately knocked down Teja with their bike.
Following a day-long protest, the police re-recorded the girl’s statement and altered the case into indecent behaviour, murder, SC Atrocities Act and Nirbhaya Act on Thursday. Family members of the accused sat on the main road and held up traffic. They alleged that the community elders were misleading the police and demanded withdrawal of certain sections. Tempers rain high when a woman tried to set herself ablaze by dousing herself with kerosene at the ‘rasta roko’ and the police foiled her attempt. East Zone Assistant Commissioner of Police Shakeela Banu held discussions with the protesters and assured them of a thorough probe. Some protesters even fainted on the road and the traffic was stalled for some time due to the protest.