Vijayawada: YSR Congress Party leaders staged a dharna in front of the DGP’s office after police refused to grant them an appointment to submit a complaint regarding the brutal murder of Dalit YSRCP activist Manda Salman. Party leaders said they were denied permission to meet the DGP, forcing them to protest outside the office, after which an Additional DGP finally received their representation.
Former minister Merugu Nagarjuna stated that Salman’s killing was a “government-sponsored murder” and demanded a CBI probe. He said police not only failed to register a proper FIR on the murder but shockingly booked a case against Salman himself. He added that leaders were initially not even allowed to see Salman’s body and that police responded only after Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said he would personally come and perform the burial. He questioned what was happening in the state, stating that even serious crimes against women and children were not being registered and that the Constitution had been replaced by a “Red Book rule.”
Former MLA Kasu Mahesh Reddy said Andhra Pradesh had descended into lawlessness, where even after the murder of a Dalit activist, police failed to act against the attackers and instead filed cases against the deceased. He said Salman’s family was obstructed from performing last rites according to religious customs and that authorities went to the extent of demanding Aadhaar cards even for burial. He announced that YSRCP would approach the High Court through a PIL and continue its struggle until justice is delivered to Salman’s family.
