The Rachakonda police has installed CCTV cameras and deployed additional police as a precautionary measure at Pittala Basthi of Chengicherla which witnessed communal violence on Monday. Rachakonda Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi said that the Friday prayers concluded on a peaceful note.
The police installed 12 CCTV cameras in the area to have a round-the-clock surveillance of the place. The official said that about 20 individuals were arrested for the violence reported on March 24. “We have put up pickets, deployed additional officials from the police force and the Armed Reserve (AR) and also ordered senior officials to make timely rounds as a part of the patrol. About 40 officers are posted on duty as of now,” said the Commissioner.
Meanwhile, the officers injured in the clash when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar and others obstructed the police were discharged from the hospital.
On March 24, a group offering evening prayers clashed with another group of villagers celebrating Holi festival. After the Medipally police of Rachakonda intervened and detained the groups, another scuffle, allegedly provoked by some individuals from the groups, was reported the next morning.