Eve-teasing costs life of victim's mother

Tenali (Guntur): The drunken misbehaviour of a group of youth has cost the life of a mother here. According to reports, Santi Susila, wife of school teacher Betala Babu Rao, went shopping along with her daughter, a B Tech student, on Monday night. While they were returning home, some young men who just came out of a nearby bar accosted them at Gandhi Chowk in Tenali.

When one of them caught hold of the girl, her mother Susila got angry and hit him. The irate youth pushed her with such a force that she fell under the wheels of an incoming truck resulting in grievous injuries. The seriously injured Susila was rushed to the NRI Hospital at Mangalagiri where she breathed her last after midnight.

Tragedy was in spite of shouts for help from the hapless women, none, including a police constable who was present there, did not come to their rescue, witnesses said.

Tenali DSP Tulasiram Prasad told newsmen that seven people involved in the incident -- Mopidevi Ramu, Meka Subrahmanyam, Shaik Jaffer, Dasari Pratap (Laddu), Muddala Ashok, Darapati Vinod and Samudrala Pavan Kumar -- were arrested.

"All the evidence would be collected and presented before the judicial court," he said, adding that he would personally investigate the case and see to it that the accused were punished severely. Meanwhile, it is alleged, hectic lobbying is going on to dilute the case. One of the accused is reported to be the son of former vice-chairman of Tenali Municipality, Ummalaneni Janaki Ramachandraiah. It is also alleged that the police were including names of several others to protect the politician's son.

Dalit and people's organisations alleged that the police were shielding the son of an upper caste politician who was responsible for the death of a Dalit woman. They staged a protest demonstration in front of the RDO office in Tenali demanding the inclusion of the name of the politician's son and payment of compensation to the family of the deceased.

Meanwhile, TDP, BJP, YSRCP, Communist parties expressed their support to the bereaved family. CPM leader D Ramadevi, CPI leader Muppalla Nageswara Rao, YSRCP leader Ummareddi Venkateswarlu, Gudibandi China Venkata Reddy, Mopidevi Phani Ramdev, Eedara Sivaramakrishna Prasad and others were present.