Hyderabad: Adrasspally, a village housing more than 2,500 people, wore a deserted look after the incident of alleged lynching and burning alive of B. Anjaneyulu, an auto driver. Tension gripped the village after the incident. A large huge numbers of police personnel were deployed to ensure no further untoward incidents take place.
Aajaneylu, 24, was the youngest of four children. His father Kistaiah, a labourer, is into faith healing. Their family reside less than 100 meters away from the crematorium, where he was allegedly beaten and put on a pyre. The devastated family dismissed the allegations that he had performed black magic.
On the fatal night, Anjaneyulu went to attend nature’s call in the open nearby. His elder brother Ganesh was at house, while Ravi, another sibling, had gone to a nearby on work.
G. Nagesh, Anjaneyulu’s brother-in-law, said, “He went out of home to attend to nature’s call after 8 pm to an open place close to the burial ground. Ganesh, his elder brother, got worried when he saw a huge gathering near the crematorium. He went to find out, and discovered to his shock, that the person thrown on the pyre was his brother.”
Nagesh, a resident of Keesara, said that Anjaneyulu, who was drunk last night, was a calm and balanced person. “He had no enmity with anyone. He was young. How could he perform black magic,” he said, adding, “Do such things exist? People still believe in such nonsense in this generation and kill a person for it. He had nothing to do with the deceased lady, Gyara Lakshmi, or her family members,” said Nagesh.
However, family members and relatives of Gyara Lakshmi, who died of ill-health, did not show any remorse or grief over the killing of Anjaneyulu.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, G. Naresh, only son of Lakshmi, said they have a ritual to keep dry cow dung on four sides of the pyre, which has been a custom for generations by now and his uncles G Balram and G Krishna, went there at around 8.30 pm. “When my uncles saw Anjaneyulu sitting next to the pyre, chanting something, they tried to speak to him. He pushed them away and tried to hit them. In an attempt to escape from him, a scuffle took place, after which he accidentally fell on the pyre,” said Naresh.
Other family members argue that Naresh’s father Kistaiah was a faith healer, who used to roam in the village during the night. They suspected him to be a black magician.
“Anjaneyulu had no work at night near the pyre. He could have attended the cremation if he felt sad. His presence there and chanting of strange words raised suspicion,” said some members of Lakshmi’s family.
The Shameerpet police, who are probing the incident, have reportedly found that 12 persons were involved in the killing and took four of them into custody, including G. Balram and G. Krishna, cousins of the deceased Lakshmi.
Police sources said, “The suspects, during questioning, have told the police that Anjaneyulu was beaten brutally with stones and sticks available at the burial ground. When he was thrown on the pyre, he tried escaping twice, but on the third time, he was pushed on it, with his head facing the earth.”
Police said a villager informed B. Narsimha, husband of village sarpanch, B. Lalitha, and informed that they have caught one person before disconnecting the call.
The police suspect the same person might have made a phone call to family members of Lakshmi that Anjaneyulu was near her pyre and was doing something suspicious.
