Karimnagar: RTC driver Babu's final rites held amid high tension

Karimnagar: The final rites of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) driver N Babu, who died of heart stroke on Wednesday (October 30), was held under tight police security in tension atmosphere at Arepally village of Karimnagar district on Friday.

The RTC JAC leaders had given a call for 'Chalo Karimnagar' to all the employees of ten bus depots while the BJP along with other parties gave a call for Karimnagar city bandh on Friday, which was held peacefully.

Around 4,000 RTC employees along with the leaders of various Opposition parties and representatives of several peoples' organisations arrived at Arepally and staged a dharna in front of N Babu' house along with his family members and demanded the government to come for negotiations and settle the issue of RTC employees.

In view of the bandh call and tension prevailing, police made tight security arrangements and took the surroundings of deceased driver Babu's house in Arepally village into their custody.

Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) chief Prof Kodandaram, CPI State secretary Chada Venkat Reddy, CPM State secretary Thammineni Veerabhadram, MRPS founder-president Manda Krishna Madiga, Congress MLC T Jeevan Reddy, former Minister D Sridhar Babu and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) working president Ponnam Prabhakar offered condolences to the family members of the deceased RTC driver.

Meanwhile, RTC higher officials gave assurance to the family members of the driver of allotting a job to one of their family members and double bedroom house and asked them to conduct the final rituals to the body.

When the police officials tried to shift the body to burial ground in the village, the protestors along with Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar intervened and tried to stop the procession demanding the police officials to give permission to conduct procession from Karimnagar bus depot-II.

When the police officials refused to give permission, the protestors burnt sticks and tyres in front the police vehicle to stop it. To bring the situation under control, the police had lathi charged and in response the angry protestors threw stones at police vehicles, but no one was injured. They stopped after MP Bandi Sanjay requested the protestors not to take law into their hands.

Meanwhile, serious argument took place between MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar and police officials after which the MP was forcibly taken out of the village.

After that, under the supervision of Ramagundam Commissioner of Police V Satyanarayana, the final rituals of driver N Babu was held peacefully in the presence of his family members at the burial ground in Arepally village.

Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar in protest against the police action staged a dharna at Ambedkar Chowk in the city. He alleged that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is behaving like a monarch and using police power to suppress the Opposition. "There is no respect for an MP, who had been elected by the people. The police dragged an MP by holding his collar, which clearly shows how Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is ruling the State," he criticised.

Congress leaders T Jeevan Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, D Sridhar Babu and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy along with Medipally Sathyam staged rasto roko in front of SRR Degree and PG College in protest against the government. They alleged that the CM is behaving like Hitler and suppressing the voice of people. Instead of taking steps for protecting the RTC, he is trying to privatise it and sell the valuable lands of RTC, they criticised.

Meanwhile, all the shops, business centres, cinema halls and educational institutions voluntarily closed on the day and participated in the bandh call given by BJP and other parties.