PNS | Bapatla
Tension gripped Cherakupalli village in Bapatla district on Saturday as grieving relatives and villagers staged a protest at Island centre, holding the lifeless body of 14-year-old Uppala Amaranth.
The young boy had tragically succumbed to burns inflicted upon him when he was returning from a tuition point in Rajolu village on Friday morning. Uppala Amarnath (14) was set on fire after being doused in petrol, resulting in his untimely demise. In a heart-wrenching dying declaration, he named the individuals responsible for this gruesome act. The viral spread of the boy’s dying declaration on social media has sent shockwaves throughout the State, drawing widespread attention to this horrific incident.
Following the postmortem, the deceased boy’s body was transported to Uppalavaripalem for the final rites.
However, activists, led by TDP MLA Anagani Satya Prasad, intercepted the ambulance in Cherakupalli village. They placed the body on the road and initiated a protest at Island centre, effectively blocking the highway for three hours. The murder of the 14-year-old boy has assumed political colour, with numerous leaders from BC welfare associations and the Telugu Desam party, including MLA Anagani Satya Prasad, participating in the protest.
Tensions escalated as clashes broke out between the police and demonstrators. The TDP demanded that the government provide the deceased boy’s sister with a government job and grant an ex gratia payment of Rs 25 lakh.
Meanwhile, Bapatla district Superintendent of Police, Vakul Jindal, stated that the brutal murder had no political connections and confirmed that three individuals have been apprehended thus far.
Addressing the media in Bapatla on Saturday, he revealed that the primary accused, Venkateswara Reddy, had been harassing the deceased boy’s sister for several months. When the boy confronted him about this, Venkateswara Reddy, accompanied by three others, doused him in petrol and set him ablaze. Jindal also mentioned that the police had seized the petrol bottle and successfully identified all the accused individuals involved in this heinous crime.
