BJP SC Morcha asks AP govt. to support Karunakar\'s family

TIRUPATI: The BJP SC Morcha leaders demanded that the state government provide the necessary assistance to the family of Duggirala Karunakar, who has died by suicide as a result of alleged harassment by leaders of the ruling YSRC.

Activists, led by SC Morcha state president G. Devanand, staged a protest in front of the RDO office in Kavali town on Friday, demanding Rs. 50 lakh in compensation as well as a government job for Karunakar's wife. They also demanded that the government provide a pension and allot a house site and land for cultivation, besides extending support for the education of the daughters of Karunakar till graduation.

Earlier, the Morcha leaders visited Karunakar's family and enquired about the incident. Speaking to reporters here, SC Morcha president Devanand said Karunakar, a resident of the SC Colony at Musunuru, is survived by his parents, wife and two young daughters. He said that the poor family, which was eking out a living by fishing, lost their sole breadwinner.

"Karunakar had taken two tanks on lease from Lakshmipuram fishermen society in Annagaripalem panchayat three years ago. After one year, YSRC leaders K. Jagadeesh Reddy and Suresh Reddy and their followers in Kavali started obstructing the efforts of Karunakar to catch fish, due to which the victim went into depression and ended his life,” he alleged.

The SC Morcha leader asked the police to take action against the ruling party leaders who were responsible for the death of Karunakar. He alleged that the home minister was not responding to the issue. He added that attacks on dalits in the state had increased during the YSRC regime.