Poll Violence in Kadapa district, Man Stabbed; Police Fires Six Rounds in Air
YSRC leaders staged sit-ins and protests, charging that they are not being allowed to file their nominations. Sunday is the last day for candidates to file their papers.
Kadapa: Violence erupted across Kadapa district on Saturday, disrupting the nomination process for municipal elections in Pulivendula, Kadapa town, Kamalapuram and Mydukur.
Police fired six rounds in the air and lobbed tear gas shells in Pulivendula to disperse rival groups.
Sunday, October 18, being the last day for filing nominations, a large number of candidates turned up at municipal offices across the district on Saturday.
Trouble began when YSRC candidates allegedly faced obstructions while attempting to file their nominations.
In Pulivendula, rival groups pelted stones at each other, prompting the police to fire in the air and use tear gas.
YSRC MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy, accompanying his party nominees, had allegedly been prevented from proceeding, following which he staged a protest on the spot.
Police subsequently put Avinash Reddy under house arrest.
The MP alleged that YSRC candidates are being prevented from filing nominations. He questioned whether the Election Commission is functioning at all.
Kadapa town witnessed clashes between Telugu Desam and YSRC supporters over the nomination process. Sheikh Murad, son of a former YSRC corporator, had allegedly been stabbed with a knife attack near the YSRC office.
The incident led to party cadres gathering at the spot, prompting the police to resort to a lathi-charge.
In Gandhi Nagar locality, supporters of the two parties pelted stones at each other. Three cars suffered damage and several people sustained injuries.
A tense situation prevailed near the Kamalapuram Nagar Panchayat office when YSRC chairperson candidate Marujolla Kavitha arrived to file her nomination.
She and her supporters staged a sit-in alleging that they are being prevented from entering the office, so that she could file her nomination.
A woman identified as B. Lakshmi sustained injuries.
Earlier, police took P. Naren Ramanjula Reddy, son of former MLA P. Ravindranath Reddy, into custody at Kamalapuram and shifted him to Kadapa.
In neighbouring Annamayya district, unidentified persons allegedly attacked the car of YSRC chairperson candidate S. Sharif in Rayachoti on Saturday, severely damaging the vehicle. Mydukur too witnessed tension during the nomination process.
Repeated phone calls to contact Kadapa superintendent of police Nachiketh Vishwanath for his response to the incidents remained unanswered.