Vizianagaram/Hyderabad: Curfew was imposed in Vizianagaram town in coastal Andhra after violent attacks on the property of transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana, and shoot at sight orders were iss
Vizianagaram/Hyderabad: Curfew was imposed in Vizianagaram town in coastal Andhra after violent attacks on the property of transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana, and shoot at sight orders were issued on Sunday. Police arrested 32 people for arson and rioting in the town. Four of those arrested are said to be outsiders, two of them from Srikakulam. The town remained tense on Sunday as the united Andhra protesters hit the streets in the morning despite the curfew and pelted stones at policemen and targeted the Satya Institute of Technology and Management College in Gajularega, run by arelative of Satyanarayana. IGP D. Tirumala Rao said, “The situation is almost under control. The locals, unaware of the implications of the curfew are coming onto the roads.” Extra forces brought into Vizinagaram “In the morning there were incidents of hurling stones on police in Vizianagaram. We have an adequate number of forces stationed in the city. Efforts are on to impose the curfew totally,” IGP D. Tirumala Rao director general of police B. Prasada Rao said extra forces have been brought into Vizianag-aram town. “There is no major violence in the town. An additional 35 companies of paramilitary forces are on their way.” Agitators were out in force in Kothapeta, Palliveedhi, Kota Junction, Dasannapeta, Kanyakaparameswari temple and other areas of Vizianagaram town on Sunday morning. The police had to fire rubber bullets in the air at Kothapeta, Gajularega and Palliveedhi and used smoke shells. Normal life was paralysed in Vizianagaram town. Around 4,500 police and paramilitary forces sealed areas such as Korada Street, Sivalayam Street, Three Lamps area, Clock Tower, where Satyanarayana’s house and those of his relatives are located. All shops including medical stores, restaurants and cinema theatres shut down for the third consecutive day. Vizianagaram and surrounding area were cut off from other parts of the region as no one is being allowed into the town and all vehicles are being checked. Some women staged a protest by squatting on the railway track, alleging that they were lathi-charged by the police when they were doing their routine work in their homes. There were complaints of excessive use of force by the police in order to safeguard the properties and houses of Satyanarayana, who people believe pushed for the division of the state for selfish reasons. Tirumala Rao said that the relaxation of curfew will depend on the situation.
