Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Seventeen persons were reportedly arrested in connection with the violence in Jainoor mandal centre on September 4.
Sources said that around 20 cases were booked against the protesters who torched commercial establishments during the protest. Accordingly, 13 persons belonging to a community were apprehended, while four from another community were arrested. Multizone IG S Chandrashekhar Reddy was supervising security even as Section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhitha (BNSS) continued to be in force in Jainoor mandal prohibiting gathering of two or more persons. There were exemptions from 8 am to 11 am and from 4 pm to 7 pm in view of Ganesh Chathurthi festival. The town is gradually returning to normalcy.
Meanwhile, the police drew flak for imposing restrictions on the media. They did not allow the media to cover the incidents by entering Jainoor mandal headquarters. They reportedly warned reporters of stringent action if they share the developments with their publications or news channels.
Meanwhile, people are forced to travel more for around 100 km than the actual distance following the closure of Asifabad-Kerameri-Jainoor- stretch to reach Utnoor mandal centre and Adilabad for various needs including medical emergencies. They are now using the Asifabad-Mancherial-Luxettipet-Jannaram route to commute to Utnoor.
The people, mostly employees, students and traders said that they were facing inconvenience due to lack of sufficient buses on this route. They requested officials to take steps to allow TGSRTC buses on the Asifabad-Jainoor stretch.