ONGOLE: The claims made in a letter written to Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy reportedly by a Class 4 student from Ramachandrapuram (Prakasam) were false. Officials, who visited the village and the family on Saturday, said her family was not being subjected to any social boycott.
In her ‘letter’ to the CM, Koduri Pushpa, the student from the Vetapalem village (near Chirala), stated that her family was being harassed by villagers as they socially boycotted them and that she and her siblings – sister Gayathri and brother Hemanth – were treated like untouchables in the school with no fellow students even interacting with them.
Then she came to know through some of her friends that if anyone interacted with Pushpa or her siblings, he/she would have to pay Rs 10,000 as fine. Some of her schoolmates even told her that there was a threat to her parents’ lives, the letter stated.
The CM, upon coming to know about the situation, reacted spontaneously. He asked Prakasam Collector Pola Bhaskar to visit Pushpa’s village and settle the issue immediately.
After this, in-charge collector S Shanmohan immediately rushed to Ramachandrapuram village, and spoke to Pushpa’s family and village elders on Saturday.
“On Chief Minister’s directions, we went to Ramachandrapuram village today (Saturday) and visited the school, and met Pushpa’s family and several villagers to inquire about the incident described by Pushpa in her letter.
In our inquiry, it was found that Pushpa did not write that letter on her own and the situation in the village and in the school was quite normal and things were going on very smoothly there.
Through our discussions and inquiry, we came to know it was true that for a few days, a social boycott like the situation was there against Pushpa’s family. But later the things turned normal and now everything was fine.
At school, all the students were friendly with the girl and her siblings. This letter to the CM and all the related allegations made in it are false,” Shanmohan told TNIE on Saturday night.
“We have got some leads that somebody with vested interests created this letter episode and very soon the accused will be identified and caught,” Shanmohan added.