“I am a former MPTC member belonging to the YSRCP. I have been ostracised from the village for the last one-and-a-half years. We are tired of making appeals to officials. We have not got justice despite CM’s instructions. Shall we not stay in our own house in our village? We have also repaid the Rs 8 lakh loan taken by my son. We have our own house and land in our village, but we are barred from entering. They snatched away our fishing nets, and preventing us from fishing in the sea. We have also petitioned the High Court seeking mercy killing. We are not getting justice wherever we go. Only Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy can do justice to us.” This is the agony and anguish of Koduri Venkateswarlu, of Ramachandrapuram village of Vetapalem mandal of Prakasam district. He shared his heart-wrenching plight with ‘The Leo News’, seeking justice and relief.
What happened to CM’s orders?
Koduri Venkateswarlu’s granddaughter Pushpa wrote a letter to CM on September 9, 2019 narrating their woes. She explained that they were ostracized from the village, and whoever spoke to them are being fined Rs 10,000. Pushpa appealed to the CM to come to their rescue. On receiving the letter, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy ordered the district collector to probe the matter and ensure justice to victims.
As a follow up, joint collector Sagili Shan Mohan held a meeting on the issue, along with the issue of villagers not sending their kids to school. On the other hand, the rival group also lodged a complaint with officials against Venkateswarlu’s family. Former MLA Amanchi Krishna Mohan too participated in the meeting held by the joint collector and explained the situation to the officials. After collecting the details from all sides, joint collector Shan Mohan announced that former MPTC Koduri Venkateswarlu had obtained title deed for 4 acre of coastal land. The land belonged to the village, and hence it will be restored to them. The joint collector also told the media that it was found that the letter in the name of Venkateswarlu’s granddaughter Pushpa was in fact not written by her, but by a person named Nagarjuna Reddy.
What does the victim say?
Contradicting joint collector Shan Mohan’s conclusion on the episode, Koduri Venkateswarlu says they were not in the village when the joint collector held the inquiry. “The public inquiry was held without us. Only those who ostracized us attended the inquiry. District officials have not done justice to us,” he says.
He said they have not been able to go to their home in the village for the last 18 months and are also being harassed with false cases. “Police registered a case that my son had defaulted on a loan. I have so far paid Rs 8 lakh towards this. We are being harassed constantly. No justice was delivered justice to us,” he laments.