The controversy surrounding the death of a farmer on Monday on the eve of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s visit to the Kondaveedu Fort is raging with the farmer’s family on Thursday sticking to their stand that he died after being manhandled by the police.
The Police department denied the allegation and an investigation was on after a case had been registered under Section 174 IPC. The police had even circulated a couple of videos with one showing them shifting the man to a nearby vehicle and the other showing them asking people not to be believe such rumours.
Expressing concern, the YSR Congress Party formed a fact-finding committee which visited the village on Wednesday and its convener Ummareddy Venkateswarlu squarely blamed the State government for the death. State BJP president Kanna Lakshminarayana wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the incident.
A day after the YSRC team visit, the police set up checkposts and allowed people into the village only after showing their ID cards.
Pittala Koteswara Rao, 45, was found dead near his farm at Puttakota village, located near the Fort. He had been cultivating a variety of horticultural crops on 14 acres he took on lease. On Sunday, the police sought his permission to temporarily use a half-acre to set up a command and control centre for the CM visit. He agreed on the condition that the remaining stretch should not be damaged.
The next day, he left for his farm at 6 am along with a farm worker. At about 9.30 am, his son Veeranjaneyulu received a call from the worker that his father fell unconscious. His son tried to reach the field but was stopped at the police checkpost. At about 11.30, the farmer’s body was brought to his house hours before the CM was scheduled to arrive at the meeting venue.
Even as the members of his family blamed the police for the death, the latter denied the allegations and said they had tried to save his life.
“My father died after being beaten up by the police and he is not a cowardly man to commit suicide. The police are trying to hush up the matter by trying to portray it as suicide. Even if he had consumed poison, how could a man die instantly? We demand that the government take action against the policemen responsible for my father’s death,’’ said Veeranjaneyulu.
