JOIN USPolice officer, staff accused of assaulting villager
Residents of Devaragudipalli blocked the road on Wednesday, alleging attack on a villager by the police in a tussle regarding digging up of the road to lay water pipes.
The protesters sat on the main road and also laid cacti, as a result of which the traffic was affected for about one hour.
Ashok, a resident of Devaragudipalli, was digging the road on Wednesday morning to lay water pipes. J N Anand Kumar, Police Sub-inspector, who was travelling down the road, objected to carrying on such work on the road during day time, saying it would obstruct traffic. He also told Ashok to immediately close the pothole to avoid accidents.
Abusive interaction
This apparently led to a verbal tussle between the police and residents of Devaragudipalli. Angered by the abusive words used by the residents, the police staff are said to have pushed Ashok into the police van and physically assaulted him. Learning of this, the residents of the village blocked the road in protest against the police assault.
SI Anand Kumar arrived at the protest spot and requested the residents of Devaragudipalli to make way for vehicles on the road, reminding them that the police staff and officers had also been verbally abused by the villagers.
In response, the protesters shouted slogans against the SI.
Kumar pacified them, promising to speak to higher officers about the matter, after which, the protesters withdrew the protest.
Ashok, who spoke to Deccan Herald, said the road was being dug to draw water.
“Although I promised to close the hole immediately, the SI, the driver Narasimhamurthy and constables pushed me into the vehicle and hit me.” He demanded that senior police officers take action against the guilty officers immediately.