Kapu protesters removed clips from railway tracks, multiple cases filed

AP Police has charged Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham among others.

While normalcy was restored in Tuni, Godavari district, the South Central Railway officials have found that the railway clips along the Chennai-Howrah line were removed by Kapu protestors after the Ratnachal Express was detained on Sunday.

The clips were fixed again and train services were restored from 2.00am on Monday. Meanwhile AP Police has charged protestors for burning a police station and setting the Ratnachal Express on fire, and added that the Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham was booked among others.

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Tensions prevailed in Mudragada’s hometown Kirlampudi as he had announced an indefinite strike from Monday evening.

Additional DG Law and Order of AP R P Thakur, who visited the burnt Tuni police station on Monday said, “The situation in the town is absolutely normal. We have booked cases and trying to identify the perpetrators of violence with the help of video footage.” Police said that Kapu protestors who came from other districts of AP were the ones responsible for violence. The police officials were able to access the riot-hit areas only 12 hours later, on Monday morning.

Families of police officers vacated the quarters in Tuni following the attacks on police stations. Several of the Kapu leaders raised slogans in honour of erstwhile Kapu leader Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga, who was murdered in Vijayawada two decades ago following caste and political rivalries.

Police forces in large number are stationed in Tuni and surrounding areas of East Godavari district and section 144 CrPC has been imposed in the Kapu dominated parts of the district. Rapid Action Force are also being brought in from New Delhi for reinforcement.

South-Central Railway Protection Force DIG Sanjay Sankrityayan said, “Railway officials are assessing the damage. The Ratnachal Express was totally gutted. We have rushed around 50 to 60 officers from Vijayawada. Local Police and Government Railway police were also giving protection to railway properties. Local police have charged people on the case.”

He added that the train, commuting between Vishakapatnam and Vijayawada, had no security escorts as it was a day-time train and that it would have not made any difference even if it had any.

“After the train was burnt, engineers surveyed the track and found that the railway clips were removed by the agitators. The clips were found abandoned close by and so the matter was sorted almost immediately,” railway officials said.

They added that they did not anticipate the violence as the protestors never announced rail-roko. Senior Divisional Security Commissioner S R Gandhi is stationed in Tuni and supervising the security.