CBN Vs Peddireddy in Chittoor: Attack might be pre-planned, say cops

Chittoor: As many as 40 people have been arrested for stone pelting and arson during TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s tour of Punganur town in Chittoor district. DIG Anantapur RN Ammi Reddy said the incident looked like a pre-planned attack. He said he expects more arrests to happen in the next few days.

“The incident looked like a pre-planned attack. The situation was peaceful till then, but all of a sudden, the TDP cadres changed the route towards the town area instead of taking the by-pass route and started a mass-scale attack,” said DIG Anantapur, RN Ammi Reddy.

On Saturday, AP DGP Rajendranath Reddy held a press conference, along with Chittoor SP Y Rishanth Reddy, to explain what happened in Punganur during Naidu’s tour on Friday. While Naidu’s rally did not take permission to enter Punganur town, as many as 400 personnel were deployed on bandobast duty. He said that a probe has been ordered into the incident.

'TDP cadre changed route'

On Friday, a clash broke out between the YSRCP and the TDP supporters while CBN was travelling to the Punganuru constituency to deliver a scheduled public address. The meeting was set to occur within the constituency of the state’s mines minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, uncle of chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.

“The cadres suddenly changed the route. They went into an argument with the police and pelted stones. To control the mob, the police had to charge, but the cadres attacked with stones, and beer bottles and even chased the police. Despite being injured, police fought to maintain law and order and brought the situation under control,” said SP Rishanth Reddy.

Around 11 police personnel were critically injured and 30 suffered minor injuries. Several supporters of the opposition TDP as well as the ruling YSRCP were injured in stone pelting and arson. During the incident, police vehicles were also set on fire.

More arrests to come

“We have video footage and are expecting to pick up another 150 to 200 people. We have also brought extra forces. We have deployed 300 police personnel from the Andhra Pradesh Special Police (APSP) and deployed them across the district,” the SP said.

The police team so far picked up all the persons who have assaulted police personnel. According to the DIG, the mob had beer bottles, sticks, stones, petrol and crackers which made the situation worse.

“We started investigating the issue and will take action against the people responsible for this. We have taken into consideration many videos and eyewitnesses,” the DIG said. When asked if there are any non-locals in the mob, the DIG said they are yet to probe that angle.

Meanwhile, mines minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy visited the police personnel who were hospitalised and promised to extend all medical facilities needed for their recovery.

Chandrababu Naidu is on a ‘Yudha Bheri’ tour to highlight the alleged failure of the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government in completing irrigation projects in various districts. It is a 2,500-km tour from Nandikotkur to Pathapatnam. According to the Chittoor SP, the problem started after CBN allegedly made derogatory remarks while addressing a rally at Mulakalacheruvu where he called Thamballapalle MLA Peddireddi Dwarakanatha Reddy a ‘Ravan’.