The alleged manhandling of Rayachoti Municipal Commissioner R. Rambabu by a YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) councillor and his supporters on June 23 evening triggered a row in Annamayya district.
Condemning the incident, around 200 employees of the civic body staged a protest at the Annamayya district Collectorate on June 24 morning. The protesters also submitted memoranda to Collector P.S. Gireesha and Superintendent of Police V. Harshavardhan Raju, seeking action against the culprits.
Municipal Commissioner R. Rambabu told The Hindu that the ruling party councillor K. Venkata Narasimha Reddy, along with a mob of his supporters, barged into his room, demanding that permission be given to some ‘unauthorised layouts’.
‘Illegal layouts’
“When I enquired about the issue, the Town Planning Officer told me that permissions were not given as the layouts were illegal. All of a sudden, the councillor started assaulting me. When I shouted for help, our staff came to my rescue. Later, some councillors asked me to be silent about the incident and that they would arrange an apology from Narasimha Reddy. However, I spoke to the Collector and lodged a police complaint,” he said.
Mr. Rambabu also accused his attackers of trying to foil the protest staged by the municipal staff against the ‘assault’.
The Municipal Commissioner said that he had been working in Rayachoti for two and a half years. “There are 125 illegal layouts in the municipality limit. We are acting tough against it,” he said.
A senior employee of the municipality alleged that the police were trying to ‘shield the culprits by watering down the case’.
However, Superintendent of Police V. Harshavardhan Raju denied any lapses by the police. “Four people including the councillor were taken into custody immediately after the complaint was received. The accused have been booked under Sections 332 and 355 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), dealing with assault on a public servant. As the sections ensure conviction for up to two years, the accused could not be sent in remand. This led to the misunderstanding on the part of the civic staff,” said the SP.
Meanwhile, APCC working president N. Tulasi Reddy condemned the incident. “It is goonda raj by the YSRCP in Rayachoti. The ruling party councillor assaulted an officer. The people must realise that law and order has deteriorated in the State,” he said.
Rayachoti MLA G. Srikanth Reddy termed incident as ‘unfortunate’. He said such issues should be settled amicably by following the government norms.
