Kapu quota stir turns violent

Tuni (E Godavari): The Kapu Reservation Movement turned violent with thousands of agitators turned up at the Tuni railway station and set seven bogies of Ratnachal Express on fire on Sunday. Four Railway officials, who tried to pacify the agitators, were injured grievously.

The panic-stricken passengers ran helter-skelter as the fire extended to coach after coach and no security personnel were at sight to come to their rescue. The agitators pushed away the police when they tried to disperse the crowds at the station.

As the situation was unmanageable, the police officials requisitioned additional forces to calm down the agitators. As a result of the protest, several trains running on the Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada route remained stranded and some trains were running very late.

Likewise, the vehicular traffic on the Chennai-Kolkata National Highway remained paralysed up to several kilometers. The agitators also set fire to police vehicles and the rural police station in Tuni. According to unconfirmed reports, one constable has lost his life.

Additional forces, including fire engines from Visakhapatnam, have been rushed to the spot. The police, which was taken aback by the sudden turn of events, tried to disperse the crowd but failed.

The CRPF battalions which rushed to the spot resorted to lathi-chage but it added fuel to the fire as the agitators pelted stones on the police. With the entire area being in a state of chock-a-block even the ambulances have not been able to reach the spot.

According to DMHO, Kakinada, they are sending ambulances but even the drivers are scared as the agitators were setting vehicles on fire. Some police vehicles have also been set on fire.

The highway for about 25 km from Tuni to Visakhapatnam and Tuni to Rajamahendravaram was totally choked with vehicles of Kapu Mahanadu activists.

Meanwhile, Railway officials initiated talks with Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham to call off the Rail Roko agitation keeping the hardship of the commuters in view.

With the unexpected flare-up, the East Godavari police remained alert and taking all possible measures to prevent untoward incidents and vandalism.

The police authorities were aghast on seeing thousands of agitators storming the Tuni Railway Station all of a sudden. They are requisitioning additional forces to control the situation.

On seeing the frenzied agitators climbing atop the bogies, the train driver averted a big mishap by alerting the Railway personnel concerned and switched off power supply.

On account of the agitation, several trains scheduled to start from Visakhapatnam were cancelled. On the other hand, vehicular traffic on the Chennai-Kolkata national highway came to a standstill with the Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham sitting on the highway with his vehicle and thousands of agitators joining him.

The Kapu Aikya Garjana convened by Padmanabham turned into a massive movement when he called upon the agitators to blockade roads and railway tracks until the community gets BC reservations.