NEW DELHI, Sept 4: Tensions flared up in Jainoor town in Asifabad district in Telangana on Wednesday after a group protested against the rape attempt on a tribal woman.
Visuals from the town showed grey smoke filling the sky as the mob burnt shops and houses. Heavy police deployment was imposed in the area to try and bring the situation under control.
On Wednesday, the police arrested an auto driver on charges of attempting to rape and murder a 45-year-old tribal woman. According to the police, the incident took place on August 31 when the woman was found lying on the side of the road.
Initially, the incident was reported as a hit-and-run case. She was immediately rushed to a local hospital and later transferred to Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad for advanced treatment. However, on September 1, the woman’s younger brother filed a complaint, which prompted the authorities to register a case and begin an investigation.
The woman, who belongs to the Gond community, regained consciousness on September 2 and narrated her ordeal to the police. The woman said she was walking from Jainoor, where she had gone for work, to her mother’s village. She boarded an auto from Jainoor, driven by one Sheikh Mugdham. On the way, the woman claimed that the driver attempted to rape her. When she resisted and screamed for help, he attacked her with a stick.
Believing she had died, he left her on the road, hoping it would be mistaken for a road accident. Following the woman’s statement, the police registered a case against the accused under the SC/ST Act, including charges of attempted rape and attempted murder.
DSP Sadayya Panthati, who is overseeing the investigation, confirmed the arrest of the accused, stating that he had been brought to Asifabad. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the Telangana government over the communal tension and demanded action against those who indulged in violence.
“I am appealing for peace. I appeal to the Telangana government that nobody should be allowed to take law into their hand. And those indulging in violence should be immediately caught. There should be supremacy of rule of law. People cannot be allowed to do whatever they want,” Owaisi said.
Owaisi also tweeted that he had spoken to Telangana DGP regarding “incidents of communal disturbances” in Jainoor. “The Telangana DGP assured me that it is being monitored and additional forces are being send and action will be taken against people who take law in their hands,” he said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
