Tension prevailed at Ankannagudem in the Denduluru Assembly segment in West Godavari district on Monday following reports of an attack on sarpanch Ch. Rajesh (42), a follower of the local TDP MLA Chintamaneni Prabhakar.
Mr. Rajesh was alleged to have been waylaid and attacked with iron rods by a rival group allegedly belonging to the YSR Congress while going home last night on a two-wheeler.
With critical head injuries and fractures in his ribs and collarbones, he is reportedly battling for life in the Asram Medical College hospital. Followers of the MLA reportedly ransacked the houses of the YSRC leaders Maravaneni Bhaskara Rao and Gopala Rao of the same village and attacked them on Monday, suspecting their hand behind the incident.
The injured YSRC activists were shifted to the city government hospital. A police picket was posted at the village where they were greeted with angry protests from the MLA’s supporters for their alleged dilly-dallying over the arrest of members of the rival group.The TDP protesters accused the YSRC leaders from the village of having made an attempt on the life of the sarpanch and demanded their arrest.
They blocked the Eluru-Nuzvid road with cement pipes resenting the attack. The clash between the TDP and the YSRC during the panchayat elections is said to be the cause for the latest bout of violence in the village. Additional SP N. Chandrasekhar told The Hindu that it was to be established in the course of police investigations whether the sarpanch was subjected to a lethal attack by the rival group or met with a road accident. No arrests were made yet.
