VIJAYAWADA: It has been six months since the incident of a woman being sexually assaulted by two unidentified men at Seethanagaram Pushkar Ghat under Tadepalli police station limits was reported. But, the officials concerned have failed to keep up with their assurances of installing CCTV cameras and take up other preventative measures in the area to strengthen security, avoid atrocities against women and to curb other anti-social activities.
On the night of June 19, a nurse who had gone out with her fiancé to the Krishna river bank at Seethanagaram in Guntur district was allegedly sexually assaulted by two unidentified men.
Three days after the incident —on June 23, 2021—Tadepalli municipal officials along with the Tadepalli police erected banners at several places and set up temporary police outposts in a bid to strengthen security and avoid occurrence of such incidents in the future.
As per the police complaint, the accused tied up the woman’s fiance and raped her. After committing the heinous crime, the two men fled the scene in a boat heading towards Vijayawada. Two months after the incident, Guntur police arrested the accused S Krishna and Venkat Reddy on August 8, 2021.
Speaking to TNIE, Guntur Urban Police explained that a static patrolling was in place at the spot where the incident happened and a sub-inspector rank officer was deputed to oversee public movements in the stretch.
“A total of six police personnel are monitoring the movements of the public round the clock at Seethanagaram Ghat to ensure safety of the public. If anyone is found wandering suspiciously, they are being questioned,” Guntur Urban SP Arif Hafeez said.
After the incident came into light, the police stated that CCTV cameras and a public addressing system will be installed to make the area public friendly and to monitoring their activities during the late hours from the control room. However, it remained an incomplete project.
Cut to the present day, nothing much seems to have changed in the stretch where the unfortunate incident happened.
There are no CCTV cameras installed nor a dedicated police outpost to monitor the activities of people visiting the ghat during the night.
When TNIE interacted with public residing in the locality, they told that the stretch from Prakasam Barrage to the Railway Barrage underpass towards Mahanadu Road was infamous for anti-social activities like ganja and liquor consumption.
They added that people fear crossing the stretch during night hours as several incidents of miscreants attacking them for money have been reported.
“After the incident was reported, police initially strengthened security and deputed around 10 officials who used to patrol for every three or four hours. Later, the number of the police officers assigned was reduced to four. Now, only one person can be seen sitting near the bridge but he is occupied with his phone,” a resident of Mahanadu Road complained and added that nothing has changed in the locality.
It has been reported that blade batch members, ganja addicts and other miscreants loiter near the ghat and sand dunes while consuming alcohol. They attack people in isolated places and loot cash and valuables.
When TNIE contacted Tadepalli municipal authorities, they were not available for a comment on the pending works of installing CCTV cameras.