The murder of Vijaya Reddy, Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) of Abdullahpurmet in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana, has caused significant emotional distress among other government officials. Protests erupted even in Andhra Pradesh condemning the murder and demanding more security to government officials.
The MRO of Pattikonda mandal of Kurnool district, Umamaheswari, tied a rope a few feet away from her desk, in her chamber, protesting against the murder. “As a woman official, I am scared about my safety,” she told The Hindu .
People working in MRO offices across the State have expressed solidarity with the protesting Revenue employees of Telangana by sporting black badges. In Pattikonda, Ms. Umamaheswari and her staff wore black badges on Tuesday. She said that there had been incidents where people in inebriated condiction had visited the office and behaved rudely. “Some even get uncomfortably close,” she added.
Commenting on the lack of security, Ms. Umamaheswari said that while the higher-ups got security, the low-level employees did not get proper protection. “We are also working in public offices, at faraway mandals in small villages,” she lamented.
She said that numerous people visit the office on a regular basis and the numbers go up significantly during the weekly grievance redressal programme, Spandana. She demanded that the officials must be provided with better security to avert any untoward incident.
The rope tied around her desk was only in protest, and had been removed ever since.
