Ramatheertham is the Ayodhya of Uttarandhra and is considered by the people as the holiest shrine of Lord Rama. Earlier, post the bifurcation of united Andhra Pradesh after partition, the newly elected government had selected Ramatheertham in Vijayanagaram district, along with Vontimitta in YSR Kadapa district, to celebrate Sri Rama Navami.
One such shrine, Ramatheertham is now mired amidst a raging issue of vandalism. Since the people in the state have maintained restraint, a sense of calmness has prevailed, while political parties on the other hand are trying their best to politicise the incident. Some miscreants had separated the head of Lord Ram’s idol placed in a small temple atop Bodhikonda.
Everyone knows the story so far
Suribabu and Rambabu have now been apprehended by the police in connection with the destruction of the Lord Ram idol.
Who’s Suribabu?
Suribabu is an ordinary person who ekes out a living by cleaning water tanks and sumps and is very poor. He also works as a labourer. Severe criticism is that Suribabu who has been arrested is now being tortured by the police and is being beaten in a bid to make him confess to the crime. There are allegations that a conspiracy is being hatched to implicate the innocent person in the incident.
Actually, Suribabu who cleans wells and tanks for livelihood was hired to search for the missing head of Lord Ram, and as he managed to find the head, police are trying to frame him in the incident. According to Suribabu’s wife, the police came to their house and took Suribabu to search the well near the temple. Though Suribabu expressed his reluctancy as he was suffering backache, he was forced to search the nearby water body. His family members are lamenting that the police took him along even though he said he could not climb the hill in such a situation. It is sad that Suribabu who is a devotee of Lord Rama is being falsely framed in the case. It is also alleged that the police forcibly made Suribabu sign on blank papers.
In this manner, Suribabu who got into the well to search for the idol of Lord Ram fetched the missing head and brought it out with both hands amidst chants of Jai Sri Ram by the people gathered at the site, while the entire incident was being photographed. Even, police were among those who took the photos. What happened now? Suribabu who went down to the well and brought the idol of Lord Ram is now in jail as a suspect.
Chandrababu Naidu fumes
Telugu Desam Party leader Chandrababu Naidu lashed out on hearing about Suribabu being framed in the case. He made a series of tweets alleging that police officers were misbehaving in the matter.
“Instead of catching the real culprits in the Ramatheertham incident … I strongly condemn the torture of the innocent Rama devotee Suribabu to admit wrongdoing and the signing of white papers. Would you betray him and his family for having fetched the Lord Ram’s head by risking his life, when authorities asked? Beware of the conspiracies being plotted to shift the crime on Telugu Desam! If someone puts water packets on a YCP vehicle, it is a shameful act to file murder cases against Telugu Desam activists. Police! Do not blindly follow what the government says and cover up sin in the case of God,” the TDP supremo tweeted.
Many have come in support of Suribabu. In this context, YSRCP Minister Botsa Satyanarayana announced that the case would be handed over to the CID and the accused would be arrested within two days. It is rumoured that such a statement will come only after it is decided to frame an innocent person in the case. On the other hand, a widespread perception among the public is that unable to convict the real culprits, the government is trying to play with the lives of innocent people.
