The police probing the arson witnessed in Amalapuram over the renaming of Konaseema district after Dr. B.R. Ambedkar have so far arrested 111 people for their alleged involvement in the violence.
“The police have also launched a search for those who had attacked the houses of a Minister and an MLA,” Director General of Police K.V. Rajendranath Reddy told The Hindu.
“More than 250 people involved in rioting at various places have been identified. Search has been launched for the remaining,” he said.
More than 5,000 protesters, led by the Konaseema Sadhana Samithi, had taken out a ‘Chalo Amalapuram’ rally on May 24, demanding that the government continue the name of the district as Konaseema.
Violence had broken out when some protesters went out of control near the Clock Tower Centre, ran into the colonies, and set fire to the houses of Transport Minister P. Viswaroop and Mummidivaram MLA P. Satish, and the Collectorate. The protesters had also torched a few buses and two-wheelers, and pelted stones.
Eluru Range Deputy Inspector General of Police G. Pala Raju, who is monitoring the investigation, said the accused had assembled in Amalapuram and conspired together to create disturbances.
Of the 111 accused, about 50% belonged to the JSP and the remaining were the activists or sympathisers of the TDP, the BJP and other parties., the police said.
“The accused had shared messages and discussed about their plan during the rally. They had shared the messages between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., formed various groups and resorted to arson,” the DIG said on Sunday.
“We have identified the accused based on the social media groups and CCTV footage,” the DIG said.
During investigation, it was found that the accused hailing from Amalapuram and the neighbouring mandals had joined the rally in a planned manner and resorted to violence, in which 25 police personnel suffered injuries, Mr. Pala Raju said.
“A hunt is on to arrest the remaining accused. The people are requested to cooperate with the police in maintaining peace,” the DGP said.
