VIJAYAWADA: The grandsons of freedom fighter Kesireddy Suryanarayana, K Suresh and his elder brother Srinivas now breathe easy after one-and-a-half-years of hard struggle to get back their 5.17 acres of land from the clutches of the encroachers, who are alleged to be the close aides of Central MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao.With the CID investigation nailing the culprits, who fraudulently took possession of the prime property, the heirs of the freedom fighter hope for early resolution of the dispute. During a chat with TNIE on Monday, Suresh, one of the grandsons of the freedom fighter, shares the trauma of his family.
When did the state government allot the land to your grandfather?
My grandfather Kesireddy Suryanarayana was a freedom fighter and the state government had allotted 10.16 acres of agriculture land at Ajit Singh Nagar to him in recognition of his contribution to freedom movement. Since it is an agricultural land, we did not make any use of it. We sold five acres over the years.
When did you come to know about the encroachment of the land?
In 2016, after we returned from a pilgrimage to Kasi, my friends informed us that some persons took up construction activity in our land. When we raised objections, they tried to attack us and threatened us with dire consequences.
When did you lodge a complaint with the CID?
We first filed a petition in court against TDP corporator Ganduri Mahesh, builder Maganti Babu, Panuku Ramesh and four others who forged property documents and sold the land. When they threatened to kill me and my family if we did not withdraw the petition, we approached the CID officials.
From whom you received threatening calls?
Maganti Babu used to claim that he was a close aide of Bonda Umamaheswara Rao and drop hints of harm awaiting us if we did not withdraw the case against him and his friends.
How lorry drivers, Ramireddy Koteswara Rao and his son, were
involved in the case?
They are innocent and we have never known them. Ganduri Mahesh, Maganti Babu, and Panuku Ramesh created fake documents showing Ramireddy Koteswara Rao as the owner of the land and sold it to various parties.
What did the CID
officials say?
After investigation, CID officials registered cases against the eight accused, including Bonda Uma’s wife Sujatha, on charges of forgery and trespassing.
What are you planning to do now?
Ever since the fraud came to light, we have been in the grip of fear. We request the police department and the Chief Minister to intervene and ensure speedy justice to my family. If we get an appointment with the CM, we will meet him and seek his help.