Vishakhapatanam: The ruling YSRC leaders are both aiding and reaping the profits from the smuggling of ganja in Visakhapatnam agency, the Adivasi unions have alleged.
The state vice president of the joint action committee of adivasi unions M Rajababu and its convener Ramarao Dora said on Monday that YSRC leaders joined hands with smugglers from Tamil Nadu and Kerala and built a network and supply chain spread to cities as far as New Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
They told Deccan Chronicle the law enforcing agencies turned a blind eye to what these leaders were doing.
Rajababu said MPTC from Darakonda Madi Ramanna and a gang from UP were caught by inspection squads at Y Ramavaram check post in East Godavari on July 24 last year and 1.5 tonnes of ganja worth Rs 44.1 lakh was seized from them. Ramanna was named as the first accused in the case filed at Donkarai police station in East Godavari, under crime no 18/2020, he said.
“Ramanna filed his nomination for MPTC post and disappeared. After winning the election, he is back but the police are not touching him,’’ said the activist.
Police sources claimed that it was due to jurisdiction problems that the East Godavari police were not arresting him.
Similarly, mandal agriculture committee chairman of GK Veedhi Madakam Chittibabu was arrested by the police on August 10 this year at Maredimalle police station in East Godavari. A case (crime no 76/2021) was booked against him under NDPS Act and he is currently lodged in Rajahmundry jail.
Mandal youth committee president of YSRC from Darakonda, Pindi Ramakrishna was arrested by the Koyyuru police at Kakarapadu check post after 100kg of ganja was seized from him and his friends. A case was booked under NDPS Act (crime no 53/2020). He hoodwinked the police and disappeared for good.
“We are still searching for Ramakrishna’’ Koyyuru SI Dasari Nagendra told Deccan Chronicle on Monday, adding, “The cases against the three YSRC leaders is just the tip of the iceberg as many more could be in the business of ganja.’’
He said Adivasis voted for the YSRC twice – in 2014 and 2021, but instead of taking up important issues, the party’s leaders were getting involved in ganja smuggling and illegal mining activities.
When asked by DC, top leaders of YSRC said they were not aware of their party members being involved in ganja smuggling.
