Congress to hold relay fast at Nerella

Hyderabad: Upping its ante over the alleged denial of treatment of Nerella victims in government as well as private hospitals in the city, the Congress decided to hold relay hunger-strike from September 15 in Nerella village.

Speaking to media persons on Sunday on Assembly premises, senior Congress leader and former MP V Hanumantha Rao said seeking justice to the victims of Nerella, 20 party workers from each district of the State would be taking part in the relay hunger strike.

Taking strong exception to the way the victims were allegedly discharged before the completion of treatment, he demanded that the government initiate action against the doctors. He said that injuries inflicted over the bodies of victims were yet to heal and the doctors displayed most apathetic behaviour. “IT Minister K T Rama Rao had made several promises, but none of them were fulfilled,” he said.

The senior Congress leader felt that during his 40 years of political career, he never saw anything like this where the patients were shown the door before the treatment was over.

He strongly criticised the government's inaction against the sand mafia, responsible for smuggling away huge quantities of sand, causing huge losses to government exchequer.

It may be mentioned here that on Thursday evening, about six Dalits, who were subjected to third-degree torture allegedly by the police in Nerella for questioning the sand mafia, were discharged from NIMS. The Dalit victims accused the NIMS authorities of discharging them under pressure though they were yet to undergo further treatment, which was denied by the hospital authorities.