annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Andhra Pradesh
areas in many tribal villages. The State
government notified 5,400 villages as
scheduled area but 796 villages were left
out though all the residents were tribals.
The State government has so far refused to
verify their claims for inclusion into the
scheduled areas. 48
VI. Violence against women
Women face societal violence as well
as the atrocities perpetrated by the security
forces.
Three tribal girls of Botakupallythanda
village in Veldurthi mandal of Guntur
district were reportedly raped by five
constables in the hillocks of the village
during a combing operation on 26
September 2003. The three girls identified
the alleged five rapists during a test
identification parade condcuted by the
State Human Rights Committee in
Hyderabad on 14 June 2004. 49
On 28 June 2004, Smt. Gangavalli
Pushpakumari of Pullalacheruvu village in
Prakasam district committed suicide by
setting herself ablaze after being raped by
Sub Inspector Rameshbabu on 27 June
2004. 50
VII. Atrocities by the armed
opposition groups
The Peoples War Group, also known
as the Naxalites, have also been
responsible for executions of political
opponents, alleged police informers and
socalled class enemies in violation of the
Common Article 3 of the Geneva
Conventions. The members of both the
Telegu Desam Party and Congress Party
were specifically targeted. 51
On 14 January 2004, N Venkateswarlu
of Tuthikonda village of Guntur district, a
Congress leader and member of the Zilla
Parishad Territorial Constituency was shot
dead by alleged PWGs suspecting him to
be a police informer. 52
On 5 February 2004, alleged PWG
cadres gunned down P Mallayya, a
landlord and Mandal level TDP leader at
Naramalapadu village in Guntur district.
They also set fire to a tractor and a
motorcycle found in the premises of his
house. Thereafter, they broke the legs of P
Pullayya, a washer man, with sticks and
iron rods suspecting him to be a police
informer. 53
On the night of 11 February 2004,
alleged Naxals gunned down three persons
including a TDP leader Allu Venkateswara
Reddy Cherlopalli village in Karkapuram
division of Prakasam district. 54
On 13 February 2004, a senior leader
of the Telugu Desam Party in Rangareddy
district, K. Kishanji, was allegedly shot
dead by suspected PWG when he went to
his native village, Rayapolu, to mobilise
people for the party’s `flag festival’ at
Ibrahimpatnam. 55
On 12 February 2004, the People’s
War Group (PWG) Naxalites allegedly
shot dead a TDP leader in Ranga Reddy
district and blasted the Mandal Parishad
office in Anantapur district. 56
On 21 February 2004, alleged PWG
cadres gunned down Vasudeva Reddy and
Ramawath Chandru at Devarakonda
9