‘Tribal land’ turns war zone as BJP men raze private firm’s shed

SURYAPET: Tensions escalated at Gurrambodu village in Suryapet district on Sunday as BJP workers pulled down a shed that was set up by a private firm on a piece of land claimed to have been allotted to tribals.

Trouble started when about 100 saffron party workers descended on the said land, following a call for a Girijana Bharosa Yatra by BJP State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, with an avowed objective to prevent encroachment of the land by the private company called Grade Agro Service. While some of the workers oversaw the operation, others, wielding crowbars and hammers, began pulling down the structure. At the time of the incident, Sanjay Kumar was not at the site.

As the situation began getting out control, the police swung into action and tried to reason with the workers. But none of the BJP men was in the mood to listen, and they went on a rampage. The police then resorted to lathi-charge though they were outnumbered. Soon, the crowd, instead of running away, began retaliation.  

The party workers kept throwing stones at the policemen, as the latter tried to drive them away from the spot. In the melee, a few police officers were injured, and were taken to a hospital for treatment. The officials injured in the attack included Deputy Superintendent of Police N Raghu, Inspector V Raghava Rao, and SI N Venkat Reddy.

The situation has remained charged since Sunday morning, with Sanjay Kumar leading party functionaries to the village to draw attention to how the said land, which had reportedly been allotted to the tribals, were being encroached by private parties. Even before the party president could reach the village, locals had zeroed in on the shed and destroyed it.

The said parcel of land, which is spread over in 520 acres in Survey No. 540 was given to the tribals in return for acquisition of their lands for the Nagarjuna Sagar Project about 50 years ago. As the beneficiaries were not raising any crop in the land, a person named R Ravinder Reddy of Rayalaseema allegedly encroached 412 acres, and set up a shed in the name of Grade Agro Service Company. He also fenced the area out.

Learning about the “encroachment”, Sanjay Kumar led what he called a Girijana Bharosa Yatra, demanding that the land be returned to its original beneficiaries. As the dispute has been festering for a long time with the tribals and other parties staking claim to the land, the district collector, in the recent past, had ordered an inquiry into the matter. Huzurnagar RDO, who was in charge of the inquiry, found that two MROs had doctored the records, and helped a private party take possession of the land. Inquiry into other parcels of the same land is still in progress. 

Meanwhile, Ravinder Reddy, whose shed the BJP workers pulled down, claimed that the land belonged to him and showed a document in support of the argument. Officials are examining the document, sources said. Addressing a meeting at the village, Sanjay Kumar said that he would stand by the tribals and fight for their rights. 

Land given to tribals 50 years ago

The land was given to the tribals in return for acquisition of their lands for the Nagarjuna Sagar Project 50 years ago. As they were not raising any crop in the land, R Ravinder Reddy of Rayalaseema allegedly encroached 412 acres, and set up a shed in the name of Grade Agro Service Company