Amid arrests and restrictions, Chirala observes shut down up to the afternoon

Chirala: The Chirala merchants and public observed a shutdown of the town up to afternoon in support of Nayudu Nagarjuna Reddy, who was under treatment at a private hospital in Ongole after he was brutally stabbed and ligaments are broken by a gang on Monday, amid the arrests of members from public organizations and restrictions imposed by the police on Friday.

The public organizations and merchants unions including the CPM, AITUC, Bapuji Market committee called for the shutdown of activities on Friday, demanding the government to arrest all 26 people involved in the assault and attempt to murder of journalist Nagarjuna Reddy and the conspirators behind the attack. The members of the organizations including Macharla Mohan Rao, Babu Rao, Damala Srikrishna, Jwala Narasimha Rao, Gavini Srinivasa Rao, and others tried to organize a rally from the municipal office in the noon. But the police announced that there are restrictions in force in the town as per the section 30 of Police Act and section 144 of CRPC and stopped the rally. After a heated argument, the police arrested the people leading the rally and shifted them to Town I police station.

At Ongole, the Andhra Pradesh Editors and Journalists Union protested in front of the district collectorate demanding the government to arrest all people behind the repeated attacks on Nagarjuna Reddy. Mekapati Malyadri, president of the APEJU said that the earlier government by TDP and present government by YSRCP neglected the protection of journalists. He said that the same journalist was attacked three years ago by the same people for bringing out corruption, but the then government protected the accused and the present government is also doing so, now. He demanded that the government should arrest all people involved in the crime by using non-bailable sections and announce monetary support of Rs 10 lakhs to the journalist, whose both hands and legs were broken by the culprits.