Kapu agitation turns violent in Andhra Pradesh, 4 bogies of train torched

Leaders from Chittoor, Nellore, Guntur, Krishna, East and West Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts have already started for the venue in hired services.

Padmanabham gave a call for road and rail blockade at the meeting and immediately agitators in huge numbers stormed the Tuni railway station and destroyed the engine of the Ratnachal Express going from Visakhapatnam to Vijayawada.

Apart from bringing the trains to a sudden halt, the protestors also held a rasta roko on the Chennai-Kolkata highway and caused a kilometers long traffic jam for several hours.

Members of the Kapu community seeking reservation are protesting against the government from some time.

Vijayawada: After a stir by Kapu community members seeking reservation under Backward Class category turned violent in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday said he is committed to reservation for the community. He said the protesters attacked Tuni (Rural) police station and damaged four police vehicles, besides some private vehicles.

South Central Railway chief public relations officer M. Umashankar Kumar said, “After the passengers in the coaches got down from the train, four coaches were set on fire… passengers are safe”.

The protesters later attacked the Tuni railway station and ransacked the furniture. Five policemen were injured in the stone pelting. Additional police force have been deployed in the Godavari district to control the situation.

“We will not move from highways and tracks till the government issues an order”, he said amid loud cheers from tens of thousands who had gathered from different parts of the state.

The Kapu community had resorted to protest over non-conformity in their status as Other Backward Caste (OBC).

The Kapu leaders were angry with the ruling TDP for not implementing its poll promise to include Kapus in BC list.