Around 50 individuals have been arrested for engaging in stone pelting and arson during the tour of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu in Chittoor district, as confirmed by the police. Additionally, the police are scrutinizing footage to identify approximately 200 more rioters involved in the violence. During Naidu’s visit on Friday, at least 20 police personnel and several supporters from both the opposition TDP and the ruling YSRCP were injured in the stone pelting and arson incidents.
The Chittoor district superintendent of police, Y Rishant Reddy, stated that they possess video evidence and are prepared to apprehend more individuals responsible for assaulting police personnel, including women officers, with stones, beer bottles, sticks, and other objects. To handle the situation, extra forces, including 300 police personnel from within the district and Andhra Pradesh Special Police (APSP), have been deployed across the district.
Despite the tense situation, the authorities have managed to control the unrest, and they have not deemed it necessary to impose Section 144 of the CrPC. Allegedly, all those arrested are affiliated with the TDP, and the organisers of Naidu’s rally had not obtained permission to enter Punganur, where the clashes occurred. Around 400 personnel were assigned to bandobust duty to prevent TDP supporters from entering the town, leading to clashes with the police.
Prior to Naidu’s rally reaching Punganur, a skirmish was reported in Madanapalle, acting as a trigger for the subsequent riot. In the course of the rioting, which involved around 2,000 individuals, 50 police personnel were injured, 13 of them seriously. Meanwhile, AP Mines Minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy visited the hospitalized police personnel and assured them of all necessary medical facilities for their recovery.
Naidu’s ‘Yudha Bheri’ tour aims to spotlight the alleged failures of the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government in completing irrigation projects in various districts. Covering a distance of 2,500 km from Nandikotkur to Pathapatnam, the tour has faced challenges, with the problem escalating due to alleged derogatory remarks made by Naidu about Thamballapalle MLA Peddireddi Dwarakanatha Reddy during a rally at Mulakalacheruvu.
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