Two more die after denial of special status to AP

Vijayawada/Kurnool/Vizag: One more person committed suicide and another died of cardiac arrest on Friday over the denial of special category status to AP. So far, four persons have died over the issue, three of whom took their own lives. The first person to end his life was B. Muni Koti who immolated himself at a Congress meeting in Tirupati on August 22.

On Friday, ration dealer and TD sympathiser S. Udaya Bhanu, 40, who was said to have been depressed over the Centre’s refusal to grant special status to Andhra Pradesh, allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan in his home in Sriramapuram of Gudivada in Krishna district in the early hours of Friday. He was found dead by his family members in the morning.

Police found a suicide note in which Bhanu questioned the future of the state without special status. “Will our Andhra Pradesh get freedom? Is it possible? Are we ignored”? were the questions raised by Bhanu in the suicide note.

According to locals, Bhanu discussed the special status issue with his friends till late Thursday night. During the Samaikyandhra movement, he had tried to climb a cellphone tower and protest. Bhanu was the son of S. Tulasi Rani, head of TD’s women’s wing in the town.

In Gudur, Kurnool, 32-year-old Lokeshwara Rao died of cardiac arrest. Rao had been active in the agitation against the Centre for not according special status to AP and had taken part in protests on Thursday.

In another incident, D. Demudu Naidu, 30, from Deverapalle ma-ndal of Visakhapatnam district allegedly attempted self-immolation. However, he was saved by locals and was taken into custody by the police.