VILLAGERS DAMAGE 200 LORRIES AFTER SARPANCH’S DEATH
Villagers of Ladnapur smashed window panes of some 200 lorries plying on the road near Ladnapur village in Ramagiri mandal following the death of Eluvaka Rajaiah, a sarpanch belonging to the Congress. He was hit by a sand-laden lorry in the village on Sunday evening.
Rajaiah, 60, was the Upa Sarpanch of Adivarampeta village. Tension prevailed in Ladnapur following the death of Rajaiah. The irate villagers staged a “rasta roko” claiming that Rajaiah's death was a planned murder and a political conspiracy as he had strongly opposed the illegal sand mining.
Traffic came to halt on at least 10-km stretch on both sides of Ladnapur village after the acctack on vehicles by mobs. The villagers demanded that the state government pay a compensation of `20 lakh to the family members of the deceased and provide them government jobs.
The lorry involved in the road accident had a poster pasted on it which read ‘Telangana Government Annaram Barrage’.
There was a mass agitation against the illegal sand mining in the area in the past over deaths of villagers of Nerella after being hit by sand-laden trucks. In one incident, villagers had attacked sand lorries following the death of one man.
Following this, person had arrested a few Dalits and allegedly tortured them. Members of the SC/ST Commission had visited the Nerella over the incident, as did Congress member Meira Kumari, then presidential poll contestant.