SURYAPET: Tension prevailed at Raghunathapalem village on Wednesday with shop owners and villagers clashing with each other. Cops brought the situation under control. Cases were filed against 20 persons and additional forces were deployed in the village to prevent unwanted incidents.
Trouble started when a 9-year-old boy suffered burns while collecting his ball that fell near the transformer. The villagers complained to gram panchayat, demanding for a fence around the transformer.
The gram panchayat then issued notices to shop owners to remove their shops for fence installation. The notices were issued to the shop owners on October 25, giving them 15 days to remove their shops. When the shop owners did not heed to their notices, the officials approached the SI, who asked the former to remove their shops, which they refused to do.
A heated argument ensued between the shop owners and the villagers and they attacked each other. The clashes turned party-based with most shop owners belonging to TRS and villagers Congress.