NIZAMABAD: Police have intensified the search for the sand transporter accused of ill-treating two Dalits at Abhagapatnam in Naveepet mandal in Nizamabad district about two months ago. The sand transporter, B Bharat Reddy, had ill-treated the two Dalits, Rajeswar and Laxman, two months ago. The incident was captured on his smartphone and the video footage was shared on the social media recently. Both the accused and the victims disappeared from the village and have not returned since then.
The incident of ill treatment came to light through social media and some Dalit organisations highlighted the issue at the national level. District level political leaders are under increasing pressure from Dalit organisations for the arrest of the accused and protection of the victims. The organisations want chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and Nizamabad MP K Kavitha to raise their voice against the incident and take steps for the arrest of the accused.
Dalit organisations lodged a police complaint against Reddy and police launched investigation last week. Representatives of Congress and left parties also met the district collector and submitted memorandums on this issue. Police dispatched special teams to trace the accused and the victims and are in touch with their relatives to know their whereabouts. But their efforts have yielded no results so far.
When contacted, Nizamabad assistant commissioner of police M Sudarshan told Express that the special police teams visited even other states in search of those on the run. “We suspect that the victims are in the captivity of the accused. We hope to crack the case tomorrow,’’ he said, adding that commissioner of police Karthikeya was closely monitoring the case and he visited the village.