A crowd, comprising women and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supporters, attacked offices of Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) here on Tuesday in protest against their operations in the town. The crowd broke glass panes, ransacked furniture and set on fire records.
According to reports, a large number of women led by TDP leader N.H. Bhaskar Reddy took out a rally against MFI operations and when they reached Tekke in the town, some of them ran towards an MFI office and vandalised it.
Seven places attacked
The crowd split into different groups and targeted offices at seven places in the town. Nearly 40 jeeps and scores of autos were engaged to transport the protesters. The Two Town police arrested 25 persons, including Mr. Bhaskar Reddy.
The protesters demanded that the government write off MFI loans and bring about stringent law to deal with these institutions to prevent exploitation of the poor in the slums. They raised slogans against the government alleging that it was hand-in-glove with MFIs.
Records burnt
Meanwhile, the staff were taken aback by the unexpected action of the protesters. At some places, where the offices were not open, the protesters broke the locks and entered the offices. Records and ledgers were set on fire.
A representative of one company said the loss on account of the attack was around Rs. 3. lakh. He said there was no meaning in the attack when the agency stopped recovery three weeks ago. The company lent Rs. 12 crore and recovered only Rs. 5 crore so far.
TDP supporters staged a dharna till evening protesting the arrests and demanding the release of those arrested.
