Man thrashed by Tirumala security guards dies

Nellore: Thota Padmanabham, 56, who was injured critically when TTD security guards allegedly beat him up for standing in the wrong queue, in the last week of March this year, breathed his last at SVIMS in Tirupati on Sunday evening.

The native of Eluru in West Godavari has been in a coma for almost 100 days.
His relatives and Jana Satta activists staged a protest before the mortuary at SVIMS, opposing the post-mortem and demanding stringent action against the security guards and justice for the family. They have been taken into custody for interrogation.

Thota Padmanabham, 56, who was injured critically when TTD security guards allegedly beat him up for standing in the wrong queue breathed his last at SVIMS in Tirupati on Sunday evening.

His relatives alleged that none of the TTD officials came to inquire after the condition of Padmanabham all these days and even after his death.

Padmanabham, who worked in the Eluru civic body, came on a pilgrimage with nine members of his family. He was standing in the Vaikuntam queue complex around 9.30 pm. Two women guards and a constable beat him for standing in the ladies’ queue, which he had done inadvertently.  They did not stop thrashing him till he fainted, even though his family members pleaded that he had a heart condition. He was rushed to Aswani Hospital in Tirumala and later to SVIMS in Tirupati.

Tirumala One Town police registered a case under section 308 after examining the video footage and other evidence. The section attracts imprisonment for seven years or less, or a fine, or both. The accused were arrested and obtained bail after 20 days in prison.

The victim’s son Ramachandra Rao and daughter Sumathi want more stringent action for the guards whose brutal behaviour is evident from the CCTV footage. They alleged that no one from TTD came to check the condition of their father ever since he was hospitalised.

The two said they have borrowed Rs 1 lakh  ever since their father was admitted in SVIMS. Alleging that Padmanabham’s death is unnatural and should be treated as murder, Lok Satta State general secretary Bala Subhramanyam has demanded Rs 25 lakh ex gratia be paid to the family besides a job in the TTD. He said Padmanabham is the only breadwinner to the family and his son is unemployed.