The interior Ramannapalli village in Sircilla mandal has achieved a unique distinction of being the first ‘crime free’ village in the entire district.
The village, located 15 km away from the mandal headquarters that falls under the Assembly segment represented by Minister for IT and Panchayat Raj K. Taraka Rama Rao, had earlier gained notoriety for the presence of Janashakthi group naxalites. But the villagers, who strived hard enough to make Ramannapalli a crime-free village, settled last four pending cases through counselling held by the police.
It all began when elected representatives were flooded with requests to settle various cases pending in the police stations. The leaders led by Sarpanch Cheliveri Rajeshwari, Upa Sarpanch Mandati Tirupathi, MPTC member Kanakalaxmi and other elders decided to redress the grievances of villagers by involving the police.
Heeding to the request of the leaders and village elders, Sircilla CI Vijaykumar visited Ramannapalli and held consultations with the petitioners and counselled them. There were four pending cases pertaining to the village – a case under IPC 498 (a) and three cases under IPC 324. The CI said that the consultations bore fruit as he could settle cases amicably, to the satisfaction of the two parties involved.
Raju, husband of Sarpanch Rajeshwari, told The Hindu that they decided to settle cases in their own village by holding consultations as they saw no use going to the police stations. “As we all live in the same village, it does not make sense to approach police or go to court for trivial issues,” he added.
Sircilla DSP Damera Narsaiah said that the villagers have set an example by making Ramannapalli a crime-free village. “We are planning to represent to the government to provide some incentives for their efforts,” Mr. Narsaiah said.
