Tonsured Dalit youngster writes to President's Secretariat, gets response

Vijayawada: A day after receiving a letter from a Dalit youngster, Indugumilli Prasad from East Godavari district, the President's Secretariat took the case seriously and transferred the petition to Assistant Secretary A. Janardhan Babu (General Administration Department, Andhra Pradesh) for further investigation.

Twentythree-year- old Prasad wrote a letter to President of India Ramnath Kovind to allow him to join the Naxal movement because when law and order have failed to do justice, he wants to look to another way to protect his dignity.

Prasad's letter has sparked a debate in Andhra Pradesh. On July 20, the Dalit youth was tonsured at the Seetanagaram police station in East Godavari district, after he was summoned to the police station over an alleged tiff with men belonging to another community and a local leader of a political party on sand smuggling.

Prasad, a graduate, alleged that SI Sheikh Feroze Shah and other policemen tonsured and humiliated him at the behest of a local YSR Congress party leader as he was questioning illegal sand mining in the region.

A day after the incident, SI Sheikh Feroze Shah had been suspended and arrested before being sent to jail along with two constables, while a few other police personnel are facing disciplinary action.

The police arrested the SI and two constables but they have failed to take any action against the other accused, the YSR Congress party leaders.

In the letter Prasad mailed to the Secretariat of President of India, Prasad said that he was writing the mail as so far, no one else was arrested and the call details of the police officers have also not been made public with an intention to hide the real criminals of the incident.

Prasad also mentioned that the East Godavari district Superintendent of Police and collector too had not taken up the issue of discrimination and harassment meted out to him. Prasad said that some people had tarnished his image and that his life was also under threat.

However, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), K.V. Mohan Rao claimed that steps had been taken for the protection of the complainant. The police officer said that some political leaders with vested interests were using Prasad for political mileage.

The DIG also said that Prasad’s statement was in violation of public safety as Maoist organisation has been banned in the state and such statements may encourage others to participate in illegal activities.

The President’s Secretariat informed Prasad that he liaise in the matter directly with Assistant Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh, for further information.