ONGOLE : A day after clashes erupted between the cadres of the TDP and the YSRC in Ongole, tension continued in the town with former minister and sitting MLA Balineni Srinivas expressing dissatisfaction over police action against 20 activists of the ruling party.
A scuffle broke out between the two groups at an apartment in Samata Nagar on Wednesday night and at the Government General Hospital on Thursday morning. The bone contention was the participation of a village volunteer in the election campaign in the apartment by the relative of Balineni Srinivas Reddy.
The former minister went to the One-Town police station on Friday morning, sparking panic among the ruling YSRC activists. He emerged out of the police station after an hour and alleged that the police were taking decisions unilaterally without listening to his version of the issue.
“If the clash was between supporters of two parties, and both cadres were involved in the incident, why did the police take only YSRC activists only into their custody and register cases on them? This is nothing but favouritism,” Balineni alleged.
Responding to the issue, district SP Garud Sumit Sunil explained that the police took action in adherence to the rules and regulations. He asserted that immediate action was taken against those involved in the clash so as to maintain law and order. “The issue would have blown our of proportion, if action would not have been taken,” he maintained.
He clarified that the 20 YSRC activists were arrested following the clashes at the hospital, and after careful examination of available evidence.
Sunil said an additional SP has been appointed to investigate the case transparently. Asserting that the accused will be nabbed soon, the SP said a comprehensive report on the clashes will be submitted to the Election Commission.
District Collector and Election Officer AS Dinesh Kumar said night patrolling will be stepped up across the town to prevent such incidents in the future.