KCR for probe into Mahbubabad violence

Calling it an utter failure of the government,TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday demanded a judicial probe into the violent incidents at Mahbubabad railway station in which nine people were injured. Holding the government responsible for the violence, KCR told a press conference that only a judicial inquiry would be able to establish the culprits behind the ugly situation. He said the Warangal district SP should also take the initiative in finding out as to who was behind the firing on protesters at Mahbubabad. Quoting media reports and eyewitnesses, KCR said it was Congress MLC K Murali who asked his gunmen to open fire on Telangana activists. The TRS and other pro-Telangana organisations had warned the government of dire consequences if Jagan undertakes yatra but the CM failed to take timely action and stop him from taking the yatra. If he had defied the directions of the government or the party leadership, he should have been taken into preventive custody, Rao said.

Todays incident reflects the mood of the people in the region. Political leaders should always react in accordance with the situation. But Jagan failed to do so, KCR said. Responding to DGP RR Girish Kumars statement that cases will be booked against him for making provocative comments, KCR said in fact cases should be booked against DGP for the violence that took place. Calling on the party cadre to make Saturdays Telangana bandh a success, KCR appealed to people, commercial establishments, employees and APSRTC not to ply buses.
==============================
 3 hurt as MLAs gunmen open fire


As Kadapa MP set off for this town from Hyderabad on Friday morning to kickstart his Odarpu yatra, around 2000 strong mob gathered at the railway station here to block his entry into the town. The 100 cops posted here were inadequate to control the mob as a little after 11 am, they began pelting stones at pro-Jagan supporters, including Parkal MLA Konda Surekha. The cops resorted to firing rubber bullets and quelled the situation. But the peace was short-lived as the stone-pelting resumed again. Unable to face the volley of stones, PSOs of 2 MLAs and MLC escorted them to the safety of the waiting room from where Surekha was seen hurling stones back at the protesters.

But when they could not match stones raining on them, PSOs opened fire. In 9 rounds fired, 3 protesters Bollakunta Praful Raju (20) of V S Lakshmipuram of Mahbubabad, Bhuma Mudhakar (24) of Bayyaram (Khammam) and B Veerender (32) of Mahbubabad suffered injuries and were rushed to MGM hospital in Warangal. Raju is vicepresident of Bahujan Student Federation, while Mudhakar is a BSF leader in Khammam. Veerender is a pro-Telangana activist. Initially,it was presumed that Raju was killed in the firing but DGP RR Girish Kumar later said that the youth had only fallen unconscious. By the time Jagan was taken into preventive custody at Vangapalli railway station around 1.10 pm and driven back to Hyderabad, Mahbubabad railway station resembled a war zone with stones strewn all over the place and doors and windows of the waiting room broken. TV sets, announcement systems and signalling networks were damaged.

A police jeep and a private vehicle were set on fire and Section 144 was imposed in Mahbubabad. Protests erupted in some areas in Telangana and two RTC buses were burnt in Karimnagar district.
Adding to the heated drama, Konda Surekha tried to swallow some sleeping pills near Mahbubabad police station. An emotionally charged Surekha screamed, I will commit suicide, as she gulped the pills with water. She along with Mahbubabad MLA Kavitha was later admitted to a private hospital in Khammam. Another supporter of Jagan, Congress MLC Pulla Padmavati suffered a heart attack, her husband Pulla Bhaskar claimed.
===========================
Naidu blames govt

The opposition TDP leader,N Chandrababu Naidu,on Friday held the government responsible for the violence that rocked Mahbubabad in Warangal district. Reacting to the incidents at the Mahanadu on Friday, Naidu said this incident had once again established that the CM had no control over his party MPs, MLAs and his colleagues. He felt that the government should have convinced Jagan not to undertake the yatra or it should have taken the Kadapa MP into preventive custody. Naidu said that the Rosaiah government was marked by indecision on all important issues.Jagans adamant attitude led to violence in Mahbubabad.
======================
(source-toi)