The sensational burning of Ratnanchal Express at Tuni in East Godavari district more than five years ago in connection with the Kapu reservation agitation continues to haunt former minister and Kapu strongman Mudragada Padmanbham.
Though the Jagan Mohan Reddy government had withdrawn the cases filed by the local police against the agitators, the Railway police have not left them.
On Friday, the Vijayawada railway court served summons on Mudragada and several others including his associate Manchala Sai Sudhakar Naidu to appear before the court om March 3 to depose on the train burning case of Tuni.
The railway police had booked cases against Mudragada and some others under Sections 146, 147, 153 and 174 of the Indian Railways Act for abetting the arson on January 31, 2016, while agitating for reservations to Kapus under OBC quota.
Mudragada was holding Kapu Aikya Gharjana at Tuni, which was attended by thousands of Kapu youth. Violence erupted after several protestors allegedly halted the Ratnachal Express heading from Vizag to Vijayawada and later they set fire to the bogies of the train at Tuni station.
Under the TDP regime, cases were registered under Criminal Law Amendment Act 1932 and Prevention of Damage of Public Property Act, 1984 and other relevant sections of IPC.
Later, the Jagan government issued orders withdrawing the prosecution of Kapu agitators against whom 17 cases were filed.
“The government hereby decided to withdraw the prosecutions against the accused in seventeen cases registered in connection with the Kapu Reservation agitation in Tuni,” the orders said.
The DGP was asked to instruct the authority concerned for withdrawal of prosecutions. Consequently, prosecution of the accused in 51 out of 69 cases have been withdrawn through a GO issued in March 2020.