Visakhapatnam: Relatives of associate professor Jarra Appa Rao and a section of students and research scholars of Andhra University (AU) plan to approach the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) to complain against the arrest of professor Appa Rao by the Vizag Rural Police on charges of supplying logistics to Maoists. The students are planning to organise a round-table meeting with people of various organisations in Vizag city against the cops alleging that the police are acting on a plan to arrest those who are raising their voice against the proposed bauxite mining. The Vizag Rural police arrested four people, including Jarra Appa Rao for allegedly supplying explosive materials to banned CPI (Maoists) on Thursday.
“How can the police arrest our professor by claiming that the professor was a childhood friend of AOB Special Zonal Committee and top Maoist Bakuri Venkataramana alias Ganesh and have connections with Maoists? The police are falsely implicating the professor to suppress the voice against the proposed bauxite mining,” said a research scholar of AU B. Subhani. If we remain silent on the arrest of Appa Rao, the cops will continue to arrest students, research scholars and professors of AU, who hail from Maoist hotbed by branding them as supporters of Maoists, he added.
Read: Andhra University professor arrested in Vizag for ‘supplying’ arms to Maoist
“The professor has been helping poor students of AU and on a few occasions the professor has protested against the looting of the minerals, which doesn’t mean that professor Appa Rao is directly or indirectly supporting the Maoists and we will approach SHRC soon against police atrocities,” said another research scholar of AU K. Madhu. Being a tribal and native of Korrapalle under G. Madugula mandal, the professor might have spoken with some persons of Vizag Agency over the phone which doesn’t mean that Appa Rao is a middleman who supplies explosives to Maoists, said a professor of AU on condition of anonymity.
“We are chalking out the future plan of action and we are discussing options with legal experts for the release of our professor,” the students added.
