Andhra Minister’s House Set Ablaze As Violence Rocks Amalapuram Town Over Renaming District

Section 144 was on Tuesday imposed in Andhra Pradesh’s Amalapuram town after arson broke out when police resorted to a lathi charge at people who were protesting near the district collector’s office against the proposed renaming of the newly-created Konaseema district as B R Ambedkar Konaseema district. Over 20 police personnel have sustained injuries as the mob pelted stones during the violence.

A police vehicle and an educational institution’s bus were set on fire.

Mob also attacked the residence of state minister P. Viswaroop and vandalized the property. The minister’s family members escaped unhurt as the police had shifted them to a safe place. Apart from this, the house of a ruling YSR Congress MLA Ponnada Satish was also torched by protestors in Konaseema district.

Alleging that some political parties and anti-social elements reportedly “instigated” the arson, State Home Minister Taneti Vanitha said, “It is unfortunate that over 20 police personnel sustained injuries in the incident. We will conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and bring the culprits to book.”

On April 4, the new Konaseema district was carved out of the erstwhile East Godavari. Last week, the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government issued a preliminary notification seeking to rename Konaseema as B R Ambedkar Konaseema district and invited objections, if any, from the people.

In this backdrop, the Konaseema Sadhana Samiti objected to the proposed renaming of the district and wanted the name Konaseema retained. The Samiti organised a protest today and sought to submit a memorandum to the district collector Himanshu Shukla against the renaming.

Police tried to quell the protest, which reportedly infuriated the protestors, and the situation went out of control.

(with inputs from PTI)

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