Kapu reservation row: 41 booked for setting train afire in 2016 acquitted

KAKINADA: The Vijayawada Railway Court on Monday acquitted all 41 accused, including key Kapu leaders V.Y. Das and Mudragada Padmanabham and state roads and buildings minister, Dadisetty Raja, booked for setting fire to the Ratnachal Express on January 31, 2016, near Tuni of Kakinada over the Kapu reservation issue.

On the day of the incident, Padmanabham had organised a large public meeting at Tuni to seek inclusion of the Kapu community on the BC list, demanding reservations. As the attendees were riled up, unidentified persons set fire to the train, following which 41 persons were booked under sections 146, 147, 153 and 174 of the Railway Act.

The court, dismissing the case, observed that the three investigating officers (IOs) failed to establish a case against the accused. The court, passing strictures on the IOs, questioned why action should not be taken against them. It stated that the IOs produced only one witness on behalf of the prosecution, who could not give proper testimony.

The incident had garnered widespread coverage as passengers of the train, including the elderly and specially-abled, were unable to exit the vehicle easily. In its immediate aftermath, the Railway Police assured to prepare a water-tight case to bring the accused to book.

Meanwhile, Kapu Nadu adviser D.N. Ramesh told Deccan Chronicle that innocent people of the community were booked in false cases for seeking reservations. He said that both the Telugu Desam government and the present YSRC government did not do justice to the Kapu community, as both failed to include them in the BC list.

He urged the governments to empathise with the Kapus, who have been suppressed due to being economically backward and include them in the BC list.