7 arrested in Andhra Pradesh's Dalit attack case

Rajahmundry: The Amalapuram police in East Godavari district on Wednesday arrested seven men, including the main accused, Yerugandi Abbulu, on charges of attacking two Dalit brothers for skinning and cutting a dead cow. They also booked a case against V. Srinivasa Rao of Samanasa village of Amalapuram rural mandal, on charges of theft under Section 379 of the IPC, for tying up the three cows belonging to the assailants in the nearby fields as he was fed up of the cattle ravaging his crops.

East Godavari SP M. Ravi Prakash said, “Out of eight persons involved in the attack on the two Dalits and the auto-rickshaw driver, we have arrested seven, including the main accused. It all happened on the spur of the moment when V. Srinivasa Rao confined the cows illegally in the fields and their owners panicked as they failed to return home by night. The attackers do not belong to any organisation.” The Dalit brothers, Mokati Elisha and Venkateswara Rao, were admitted to a hospital in Amalapuram.

Meanwhile, the YSR Congress condemned the attack on Dalits by miscreants masquerading as members of the Gau Rakshana Samiti. YSRC MLA Uppuleti Kaplana told newsmen in Vijayawada that TD and BJP workers were using the Samiti's name to launch these attacks. She alleged that ever since TD and BJP had come to power at both the state and Central government levels, attacks on Dalits and minorities were on the rise across the country.

Meanwhile, the AP Civil Liberties Association condemned the attack on the Dalits and demanded stern action against the culprits. It asked the state government to provide relief and compensation to the victims as per the norms of the SC and ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act.