KURNOOL: In the aftermath of the deadly incidents at Proddatur, Nandyal, Govindapalle and Cherukulapadu, police officials maintain that the law and order situation has not gone out of hand as feared by many. They term these as tribal and political happenings. People, however, fear that jungle raj was back in Rayalaseema with the rise in the number of killings. The recent murders seem to highlight the tribal attitude toward revenge and the ‘eye for an eye’ attitude in Kurnool and Kadapa districts.
Political factionalism, meanwhile, has taken a new turn with assassins being hired from far off places. Village fights have given way to organised killings. A factionist confessed to this paper that “It is a dangerous and vicious cycle. Once we get killers from outside, it will eat us away”. Incidents of crude country bomb blasts, hackings and murders have been reported in Rayalaseema over the recent past. Since 1980s, violence has been on the decline in Kadapa, Anantapur and Kurnool districts although factionalism still rules large.
DIG Ramanakumar said police had identified 78 factional groups in Kurnool district alone. Politicians, deeply rooted in the region, seem to be capitalising on the issues present with each party wooing a specific powerful forward caste in the area. Be it Bombula Siva Reddy, Paritala Ravindra or Raja Reddy, those who swear by sword perished by it, said a senior police official.
When asked about jungle raj in Rayalaseema districts, Mr Ramanak-umar said, “Cherukulapadu Naryana Reddy murder was due to faction. The three incidents may give an impression that law and order might be going out of hands. There are 78 faction villages in Kurnool district with about 300 people bounned over in these faction villages. We are taking up measures to exterminate factionalism. All district SPs have been alerted not to allow any factionists or anybody to behave in a violent manner. We have worked out a plan of action to control them.”
Ramanakumar pointed out, “Search parties have been sent to nab the culprits. Govindapalli murder is not a faction murder. It was due to sexual jealousy. Though it is very scary and very inhuman, but it was because of sexual jealousy only. It is not a political murder. It is not a faction murder. With all our efforts it will not be repeated.” Gangula Prabhakar Reddy, MLC who has seen the ill effects of factionalism told this newspaper that there is no semblance of law and order in Kurnool district.
Referring to Govindapalli murders, he said that when the police knew that villagers had hired goons from outside, they should have booked those who funded the operations. The police inaction emboldens the killer contractors, he cautioned. Vadlamani Sastry, a political commentator said “The murders are not purely political. They are factional. Parties only encash on them as per their needs. Parties and government only give moral support and some logistics. Ultimately no case will be proved in faction murders. Settling scores later by the other group is the mantra.YSR did the same. Babu now doing the same.”
R.P. Meena, a former inspector general of police in Rayalaseema, was specially tasked by YSR in 2005 to eliminate factional violence. In his report submitted in 2007, Meena said that the violence created by factions was worse than that of the caste gangs of Bihar. “They hacked, maimed and beheaded their opponents just to create terror,” he said in his 210-page report to the government.
