Normalcy was restored on Wednesday, May 25 in Amalapuram town in Andhra Pradesh that witnessed widespread arson in protest against the move to rename the new Konaseema district after BR Ambedkar. We have registered seven cases and taken over 40 miscreants into custody. We have deployed a force of over 2,000 personnel under the supervision of two Additional Directors General of Police. The situation remains normal in the district now, State Director General of Police K V Rajendranath Reddy told PTI.
He said the police were investigating what exactly triggered the violence on Tuesday. We are analysing the CCTV footage and other evidence. We will bring the guilty to book, the DGP added.
The move to rename the newly-formed district triggered arson in Amalapuram on Tuesday evening, with the protesters opposed to the name-change setting the houses of state Minister Pinipe Viswarupu and a ruling YSRCP MLA P Satish on fire. Some buses were also set ablaze in the town while over 20 police personnel, including senior officers, were injured in stone-pelting by the mob. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 Cr P C were clamped in the town to quell the mobs and restore order.
On Wednesday, protesters tried to stage dharnas in Amalapuram, Ravulapalem, Ambajipeta, Kandriga and other places, but the police foiled the attempt.
The abrupt decision of the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy regime to rename the newly-formed Konaseema district as BR Ambedkar Konaseema district is being attributed by a section of local people to the ongoing changes in the political landscape in the region. The violence snowballed into a political row with the ruling YSRCP blaming the opposition parties, particularly the TDP and the Jana Sena, while the latter rebutted with equal alacrity.
Police took Annam Sai, said to be a close follower of Transport Minister P Viswarupu, into custody as he allegedly led a mob attack.
Several Ministers pointed an accusing finger at the TDP and the Jana Sena over the Amalapuram violence, alleging that Chandrababu Naidu was known for such dirty politics.
Hitting back at the ruling party leaders, Jana Sena chief K Pawan Kalyan on Wednesday said, "The YSRCP leadership has this self-righteous attitude. They blame others for everything, even their failures. They had, in the past, even blamed the judiciary when things did not go in their favour." He said it was a well-orchestrated plan by the YSRCP to create a rift in the name of renaming the district.
The TDP also took strong exception to the YSRCP allegation that the TDP-Jana Sena combine instigated the violence in Amalapuram.