AP post-poll violence: 124 persons held, 1,370 named as accused; SIT submits report to DGP

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh police have arrested 124 persons while registering 1,370 persons as accused in the widespread post-poll violence in the three districts of Palnadu, Anantapur and Tirupati.

On Monday, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) submitted a 150-page report on the incidents of violence. SIT chief and senior IPS officer Vineet Brijlal submitted the report to director-general of police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta at the Mangalagiri police headquarters on Monday.

SIT team

The SIT was constituted with 12 other members including an SP, an additional SP, four deputy SSPs, seven inspectors and a legal advisor.

Four sub-teams were formed and each team was headed by the deputy superintendent of police and two teams were deployed to Palnadu district, one team to Anantapur and the other team to Tirupati. The SIT was tasked to submit a report within two days for onward submission to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

33 cases were registered in Palnadu, Tirupati and Anantapur districts

On May 18, the SIT teams visited Palnadu, Tirupati and Anantapur districts, where clashes between the YSRCP and TDP cadre occurred on May 13, the polling day and the following days. Many people were also injured in the clashes.

A total of 33 cases were identified in the said three districts

As many as 22 cases were registered in three Assembly Constituencies under the limits of eight police stations limits in Palnadu. In Anantapur, as many as seven cases were registered in one Assembly Constituency under one police station.

Similarly, in Tirupati, as many as four cases were registered in two Assembly Constituencies based on the intensity of major incidents of violence that occurred on poll day and post-poll day.

SIT investigation process

The SIT sub-teams camped in the districts concerned and reviewed the investigation done in the cases.

The SIT visited the scene of the offences, interacted with the Investigation Officers (IOs) and aggrieved persons, and verified the physical evidence collected so far and the witnesses’ statements. They checked whether appropriate sections of law were applied, whether all incidents were registered as cases and whether the accused were identified and arrested as per due procedure.

1,370 persons are accused

In the 33 cases, a total of 1,370 members were cited as accused in the FIRs.

Among them, 124 were arrested and 94 persons were issued notices under Section 41A of CrPC so far. The SIT has exhorted the IOs to ensure the completion of pending arrests at the earliest.

Lapses in investigation

In the report, the SIT also noticed that many of the offences are extremely serious because multitudes of miscreants brazenly clashed as two groups, pelting stones indiscriminately, which potentially could lead to serious injury or even death.

The SIT even identified many lapses in the investigation and has given clear instructions to the IOs for compliance at the earliest. As part of supervision, special teams were formed to identify and apprehend the accused at the district level.

IOs are instructed to file a memo in the concerned courts for adding appropriate sections of the law to the existing sections. They further instructed the officials to collect digital evidence like CCTV footage, videos, etc., arrest the accused and file the chargesheet at an early date.

During the field visits, SIT received representations from various aggrieved persons and is verifying the facts for further necessary action. After receiving the confidential detailed report on SIT findings, the DGP, AP has further directed the district SSPs, the DIG of Anantapur and the IG of Guntur to take necessary action to complete the investigations in coordination with the SIT team.