*Police torture drives fisherman to self-immolation: YSRCP*

Tadepalli, August 21: Kruthivennu ZPTC Ratnakumari said police brutality in Bantumilli drove poor fisherman and Bolero driver Tirumalasetti Kanakaraju to attempt self-immolation outside the police station, leaving him battling for life in hospital.
Speaking at the YSRCP central office along with Kanakaraju’s wife Lakshmi Durga Bhavani, Ratnakumari said Bantumilli SI Nagaraju, a home guard and constables stopped Kanakaraju while he was returning from Vijayawada and abused him over honking on the road. Though he pleaded that he was ready to pay any fine, police forcibly took him to the station.
She said Kanakaraju was confined at the station from around 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., stripped, kicked with boots and beaten with lathis. Police seized his mobile phone and Bolero van, his family’s only livelihood, and registered a drunk-driving case against him.
When Kanakaraju returned the next morning and pleaded for his vehicle, police threatened to seize it permanently, cancel his driving licence and book him in further cases. Unable to bear the physical torture, humiliation and fear of losing his livelihood, he poured petrol over himself and set himself ablaze outside the police station.
His wife Durga Bhavani broke down before the media, saying Kanakaraju was the sole breadwinner for their two children and had repeatedly begged police to return his phone and vehicle. She said he was targeted because he had recorded a video.
Ratnakumari demanded the immediate suspension of the police personnel involved, criminal action against them and intervention by the district SP. She said YSRCP would stand firmly with Kanakaraju’s family and, under YS Jagan’s leadership, continue the fight until justice was delivered.