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Chilli farmers handcuffed
In what is termed as a heinous act, the chilli farmers, who were arrested in connection with the ransacking of Khammam agriculture market yard, brought handcuffed to the district court here on Thursday.
Two Armed Reserve SIs suspended
Khammam: In what is termed as a heinous act, the chilli farmers, who were arrested in connection with the ransacking of Khammam agriculture market yard, brought handcuffed to the district court here on Thursday.
Even as the state government was facing a massive criticism for booking cases against 10 chilli farmers, majority of them Dalits, the development comes in as a huge blow for the government which trumpets itself of doing a lot for the farming community.
The incident occurred when the police produced farmers arrested in connection with the cases on April 28 attack on Khammam agriculture market yard were brought to the court this morning for extension of their judicial remand.
It may be mentioned here that police booked cases against 10 farmers and Sathupally MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah accusing them of vandalising the agriculture market yard.
Noticing the farmers in handcuffs, Sandra and several other leaders who were present in the court raised a hue and cry, and demanded the police to unfetter the farmers.
This had evoked strong protests from Opposition parties – Congress, Telugu Desam, CPI, CPI (M), CPI-ML New Democracy and various farmers’ fora.
Condemning the act of handcuffing farmers, TPCC president Uttam Kumar Reddy demanded that the government tender its apologies to farming community.”
Sandra said: “TRS government, which claims itself as pro-farmer, revealed its true colours by fettering the farmers like hardcore criminals.” Meanwhile, the Opposition leaders are reportedly planning to move the Human Rights Commission.
Speaking to The Hans India, senior advocate and Congress Legal Cell district chairman Jammula Sharath Kumar Reddy said: “Long back, the Supreme Court has given a ruling that a person should not be handcuffed unless he/she is accused of a grave crime.”
In Prem Shanker Shukla v/s Delhi Administration case, the Supreme Court Justice VR Krishna Iyer held that handcuffing is prima facie inhuman and, therefore, unreasonable, is over-harsh and at the first flush, arbitrary.
Taking a serious note of the lapse, Commissioner of Police Tafseer Iqbal ordered Additional DCP Saikrishna to conduct an inquiry into the issue. Based on his report, North Zone IGP Y Nagi Reddy suspended two Armed Reserve sub-inspectors D Purna Naik and A Venkateshwar Rao for the fiasco.
Later in the day, the District Sessions /SC, ST Special Court granted bail to all the 10 farmers. TDP, Congress and Left Party leaders accorded a warm welcome to the farmers at the prison.
Minister for Roads and Buildings Tummala Nageshwara Rao, who condemned the incident, reasserted that their government has been working for the betterment of farming community.
