Andhra Pradesh witnessed disturbances, pro-Telangana protests

Disturbances in the Old City here and other towns of Andhra Pradesh and violent protests by pro-Telangana activists posed a challenge for Andhra Pradesh Police during 2012.

According to police, 1.66 lakh cognisable crimes were reported till November compared to 1.64 lakh cases during the same period last year. Nearly 300 Maoists were arrested while 304 others surrendered.

CBI court judge T Pattabhirama Rao and two district judges K Lakshminarasimha Rao and T Prabhakar Rao (who were later suspended) were among 11 people arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in the cash-for-bail scam involving former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy.

Police had a tough time in dealing with communal elements as the Old City and other areas here witnessed many incidents of violence during April.

Violence again broke out in October after religious flags were set ablaze in some areas of
Old City, that resulted in injury to 10 people, including three policemen. There was further tension in the Old City in November following protests over the decision of the state government to allow covering of a shed over Bhagyalakshmi temple (abutting Charminar) with a tarpaulin sheet.

An explosion followed by fire in oxygen control unit at the plant of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) in Visakhapatnam in June resulted in the death of 19 people including senior officials.

On May 21, as many as 25 passengers were killed, 16 of them charred, and 43 injured when the Bangalore-bound Hampi Express rammed into a stationary goods train after its driver apparently overshot the signal near the station in Penukonda of Anantapur district.

Thirty-two passengers were charred to death and 25 injured when fire broke out in a coach of the New Delhi- Chennai Tamil Nadu Express on July 30 near Nellore district, with forensic experts pointing out that presence of fire crackers led to rapid spread of the blaze in the gutted bogie.

A major fire, which broke out at one of the hangars at Old Airport at Begumpet here on
December 17, caused a damage of over Rs 100 crore with the destruction of the chopper meant for the use of the Andhra Pradesh chief minister and six aircraft belonging to a training academy.

Violent protests, demonstrations, bandhs continued this year also in Hyderabad and Telangana region over statehood issue that kept the police on tenterhooks.

Osmania University, which has been witnessing violent protests since 2009 over demand for formation of a separate Telangana state, continued to hit the headlines with students clashing with police at the varsity campus on regular intervals.

The year also many temple burglaries in the city, including that of Lal Darwaza
Simhavanhini Sri Mahankali temple which sparked communal tensions, though police later arrested four persons responsible for the theft in 18 temples.

A suspended constable K N Giriprasad Sarma, held Police Transport Organisation SP E Lakshmi Narayana "captive" to protest alleged harassment, on September 12, before releasing him. Sarma was later dismissed from service, while Narayana was subsequently placed under suspension on charge of colluding with the constable in the hostage issue.

Hyderabad Police arrested Tollywood actor Abhishek Kumar on December 9 and seized 10 grams of cocaine from him while another actor Nikhil Siddarth was detained in a case of drunken-driving on November 15.