With the issue of handcuffing the farmers of Amaravati, including four Dalits, becoming a national issue and going to the notice of the national human rights commission, the ruling YSRC has begun the damaging control exercise.
The arrested farmers from Krishanayapalem included five SCs and two OBCs and they were charged with obstructing some Dalits from neighbouring villages, who had come to Amaravati last week to stage demonstrations in support of the three capitals plan.
The police, who booked them, along with four others, under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, handcuffed them while bring them from Narsaraopet sub-jail to Guntur central prison, as part of judicial remand.
As the news became a national issue, Guntur (rural) superintendent of police Vishal Gunni, quickly acted by suspending six head constables who were escorting the farmers, apart from issuing charge-memos to a reserve inspector and a sub-inspector for handcuffing the farmers.
But as the issue continued to kick up uproar, state home minister Mekathoti Sucharita was on Friday forced to tender unconditional apology to the farmers.
She described handcuffing of farmers as atrocious and inhuman act and accused the police of doing over-action on the issue.
She said let alone handcuffing, even the arrest of the farmers was condemnable.
“We have already initiated action against erring cops. We shall not spare anybody,” the home minister said.
Bapatla MP Nandigam Suresh also admitted that handcuffing of farmers was definitely a big mistake and the government had acted swiftly by suspending the policemen.
“But the TDP is trying to gain political mileage by exploiting the incident,” he alleged.
Stating that the Jagan government was taking several pro-Dalit programmes, Suresh said all Dalits were in favour of the YSRC government.
He appealed to the Dalits not to fall in the trap of Chandrababu Naidu and warned that if the TDP tried to politicise the issue, the government would not keep quiet.