Adivasi Families Allege Police Harassment Over Land Dispute in Anakapalli Village
AIARLA and the Andhra Pradesh Adivasi Sangham have demanded that the Anakapalli district administration intervene to prevent their eviction and protect the interests of tribal families.
Visakhapatnam: Konda Dora Adivasi families of Jogumpeta village in Ravikamatham mandal of Anakapalli district have alleged attempts to evict them from nearly 10 acres of land that they say they have been cultivating for generations.
According to these families, Chunduru Usha Rani and her husband Nageswara Rao, residents of Hyderabad, have been claiming ownership of the land since 2025 and are seeking possession of it. Adivasi families of Jogumpeta are currently cultivating cashew on this land.
All India Agricultural and Rural Labourers Association (AIARLA) state executive committee member K. Janardhan has alleged that police are being used in dealing with what he described as a civil dispute. He charged that Adivasi families claiming the land are being summoned to Kothakota police station, threatened with arrest, and pressured to accept cash settlements.
Janardhan contended that such actions are contrary to High Court directives that police should not interfere into civil disputes. He maintained that the police behaviour amounts to violation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2017.
The affected families have submitted complaints to the district collector and superintendent of police seeking an inquiry into the alleged police harassment. Another representation has been to the SP expressing apprehensions that they could be evicted from the land before it is handed over to the claimants.
“This is not merely unlawful; it is an assault on the dignity and survival of vulnerable communities,” Janardhan stated.
A Jogumpeta resident Chidipalli Devudamma said she has been cultivating a two-acre cashew orchard for more than two decades. “Where are we supposed to go to survive,” she asked.
Another resident Rechukatla Lovamma said her family has developed a three-acre cashew orchard with support from the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA). They are now facing repeated warnings to vacate the land.
AIARLA and the Andhra Pradesh Adivasi Sangham have demanded that the Anakapalli district administration intervene to prevent their eviction and protect the interests of tribal families.
