Kolla Harish, a victim of the Nerella attack on Dalits, carried kerosene to TRS rally that was being addressed by KTR
Sircilla: On November 30, Kolla Harish created ruckus among thousands, who were gathered to witness the rally of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). While caretaker IT minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Friday addressed the gathering as part of Praja Ashivada Yatra, Kolla Harish was carrying a bottle of kerosene, which he splashed on himself and threatened to set himself ablaze. The police, however, restricted his efforts and later detained him.
Harish is an alleged victim of the Nerella incident, where he was reportedly put through third-degree torture by the police while resisting the illegal land mining that was taking place there.
The Nerella incident occurred in July 2017, where a villager B Bhudaiah was mowed down by a truck. This was one of the many such cases that had taken place for the past few years. The villagers were agitated by the incident and set the trucks on fire.
The police resorted to lathi charge to stop the commotion. Eight of them, who were considered as the chief men behind the destruction, were illegally arrested and were subjected to third-degree torture, caste-based discrimination and abuse. The eight accused in the incident happened to be Dalits, and some of them are now bed-ridden and unable to do day-to-day tasks.
As the incident came to light, the opposition parties and National Human Rights Commission intervened and flagged several protests, demanding judicial inquiry and action against the police officials. Following the inquiry, Sircilla circle inspector, B Ravinder was found guilty of the abuse committed, and he was suspended.
The opposition leaders and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) president M Kondandram are using this issue to accuse the TRS of allowing such acts of power abuse to happen in the state.
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