In an incident that shocked the city, an on-duty woman Tahsildar was set ablaze by a man at her office in Abdullapurmet on Monday afternoon. According to reports, Vijaya Reddy, the Tahsildar or Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO), was alone in her office when she was attacked by Kurra Suresh, who set her on fire.
The officials from Rachakonda police said that there had been a fallout between the two of them over 7 acres of land near Bacharam village. Vijaya Reddy was the first Tahsildar after the formation of the Abdullapurmet Zone. She was allegedly accused of harassing Suresh for not doing registration. Meanwhile, Suresh claimed before police that she had asked for a bribe.
While Vijaya’s body was shifted to Osmania General Hospital as per procedure, the assailant’s condition was also said to be critical as he was injured in the incident.
Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagawath said that there will be a thorough and scientific investigation in this case. We have learnt that dispute over a land was ongoing in the High Court, which could be the accused’s motive to carry out the attack by reportedly pouring kerosene over her at the office.
“This is a daylight murder of a Government official and the accused will not be spared. We will see what all has led to this incident. The man is already in our custody. We are also probing if anyone had provoked him. We will finish the investigation in a limited time and take it to a fast track court for swift punishment and see that he is hanged for the crime,” he said.
ACP Vanasthalipuram, S Jayaram, said that the accused had suffered 63 per cent body burns and is being treated. “Two people were injured in the whole fiasco including Suresh. We are collecting statements from all the witnesses to proceed with the investigation. We have already booked cases under section 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC against the accused. The evidence gathered from the scene of offence, including cloth and bottles etc are being sent to laboratory to test” said the official.
Senior police officials and District Collector Ranga Reddy visited the spot. Meanwhile, Condemning the incident, Education Minister Sabita Indra said “Stringent punishment will be given to the accused. If the public have any trouble with officials, it should be brought to the attention of the higher-ups to deal with the problem. These heinous acts will only make things worse. We will order a probe soon.”
The Minister urged the District Collector and the Police Commissioner to look into the matter and investigate what had led to such a heinous crime.
In June this year, Forest Range Officer Ch Anitha was attacked by a mob while performing her duty as a fight had broken out in Sarsala village between officials and forest dwellers in Kagaznagar subdivision of Asifabad district.
The brawl was the result of a conflict over a plantation drive taken up by the State Government. In the commotion, Anita was attacked by a mob with sticks which was caught on video. The mob had been led by TRS leader Koneru Krishna, the brother of Sirpur MLA Koneru Konappa.