Karimnagar: BJP state chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar continued his sit-in protest at the party office on Tuesday, demanding that the state government suspend Siddipet police commissioner Joel Davis for manhandling him on Monday, and the unconditionally release the BJP partymen “wrongfully” arrested by the police.
A heated atmosphere prevailed from Monday night with Kumar’s announcement of the deeksha. The partymen held dharnas and blocked roads and some of them burnt effigies of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and ministers K.T. Rama Rao and Harish Rao, raising slogans against the state government at several places across the erstwhile Karimnagar district.
The police officials of the four districts — Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Rajanna Sircilla and Jagtial — struggled to keep the situation under control. They intensified checks, placed barricades and stopped the BJP cadres from reaching the deeksha camp to prevent any untoward incidents.
BJP leaders from various parts of the state visited the deeksha camp which included former MPs Jithendar Reddy and Vivekananda, former ministers Peddireddy, Babu Mohan and former MLAs Bodiga Shoba, Katakam Mruthyunjay, all of whom consoled Kumar.
Alleging that the TRS was misusing the police to harass the BJP by lodging false cases against its cadre, Kumar alleged that the ruling party was planning to postpone the Dubbak Assembly bypoll by hook or crook, because it knew it was going to lose “How the police can stop a star campaigner for the bypoll even after getting permission from the Election Commission? Is this a police raj and TRS Raj,” he said about being stopped while entering Siddipet on Monday
Claiming that the police official did not show minimum courtesy towards a Member of Parliament and state chief of a national party along with other senior leaders of the BJP, Kumar asked: “How can he manhandle a MP who was going to the town?”
Meanwhile, as his sugar levels went down due to the deeksha, BJP leaders admitted Kumar to a private hospital. Former MPs Jithender Reddy and Vivekananda gave him lime juice and made him withdraw the deeksha.
The National Commission for Backward Classes suo motu took up the arrest of Sanjay Kumar and issued showcause notices to Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and Director General of Police M. Mahendar Reddy.
In a statement released here, it said that with the regard to the manhandling and arrest of Sanjay, who belongs to the Backward Classes community, the commission was empowered to enquire into the facts of the case to safeguard the rights of OBCs.
The Commission asked the officials to reply before November 5, and submit supporting documents with regard to the incident that took place on Monday night without fail.
