Karimnagar farmer climbs water tank as community members impose social boycott

Police, on getting information, rushed to the spot, and tried to convince Gundreddy Mallareddy to come down, but their efforts were in vain.

Karimnagar: A farmer from Chokkaraopalli of Ganneruvaram mandal in the district created a flutter for a few hours on Wednesday when he climbed an overhead water tank at the mandal headquarters in protest against alleged police negligence in taking action against people from his own caste who had imposed a boycott on his family.

Police, on getting information, rushed to the spot, and tried to convince Gundreddy Mallareddy to come down, but their efforts were in vain. He refused to come down till action was taken against five of his caste people who were harassing him and his family for the past four years for questioning alleged irregularities that had taken place in the gram panchayat in 2010.

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According to Mallareddy, the then sarpanch Chitkuri Anantha Reddy had drawn public money by producing fake bills for different works without undertaking any of the jobs. He said he unearthed the irregularities when he sought details under the RTI Act and brought the issue to the notice of the District Collector, District Panchayat Officer and Superintendent Engineer, Rural Water Supply.

Responding to his complaint, the DPO issued show cause notice to Anantha Reddy after ordering an enquiry by the DLPO. Subsequently, Anantha Reddy, who held a grudge against Mallareddy, took the support of sarpanch Musku Karunakar Reddy, deputy sarpanch Alluri Srinath Reddy and others including Musku Sanjeev Reddy and Alluri Mallareddy and formed a Reddy Association and boycotted his family.

They reportedly passed a resolution in the association stating that a fine of Rs 5,000 would be imposed on anyone who extends support to Mallareddy’s family. “Villagers are not willing to work in my agriculture field and I have to engage labourers from other villages,” Mallareddy, who stays in Karimnagar, said.

Subsequently, he lodged a complaint with local police on December 26, 2020, but bowing down to pressure from the community, the SI did not initiate any action against his caste elders, he alleged.

Denying the allegations, sarpanch Karunakar Reddy said there was no boycott of Mallareddy’s family, and all the allegations in the complaint had been proved wrong in the enquiry conducted by SI Avula Thirupathi. The SI also recorded the statements of 15 members and submitted it to Thimmapur CI and Commissioner of Police. Mallareddy, who runs a shop in Karimnagar, has given his lands for lease to tenant farmers, he said.

Later in the afternoon, Thimmapur CI Shashidhar Reddy visited the spot and convinced Mallareddy to come down with the assurance that his problem would be solved within a couple of days.

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