The Andhra Pradesh Human Rights Commission has asked the Criminal Investigation Department of the state police to register cases against both policemen, who opened fire, as well as the protestors who indulged in stone-pelting at Mudigonda village in Khammam district on July 28.
It may be recalled that seven persons were killed and seven others injured in the police firing while several policemen were injured in stone-pelting, including a constable who suffered an injury in his left eye and lost vision.
The APHRC on Wednesday directed the CID to register criminal cases, investigate and take consequential action against both the guilty police personnel who opened fire and agitators who attacked the police at Mudigonda.
Disposing of the case, which was taken up suo motu after watching the incident at Mudigonda on TV channels on July 20, Commission Chairman Justice B Subhashan Reddy and member E Ismail said action should be initiated after the investigation, as contemplated under the Criminal Procedure Code.
They observed that the report of Khammam District Collector Sashibhushan Kumar on the incident, filed in response to the commission's notice, showed that no preliminary measures such as lathicharge, bursting of teargas shells or using water cannons were taken by the police before resorting to the extreme step of opening fire.
"Policing is necessary in a welfare state for maintaining rule of law. Application of force is also permissible whenever situations so warrant. But use of force has to be proportionate to bring law and order problem under control. Opening of fire is the harshest of methods to maintain law and order and exceptional circumstances have to be shown to sustain such as action," the commission chairman and member pointed out.
"Compensating the injured/victims or the kin of the deceased is one aspect and even if the government takes care of that, the other aspect of trying the guilty under the criminal law remains and hence cases need to be registered and investigated," they added.
The district collector told the commission that the police had not made proper arrangements to tackle the situation and this led to the firing.
He informed the commission that the police did not bring water cannons and teargas shells to Mudigonda and were under the impression that this was going to be an ordinary agitation. When things got of hand, the police had to resort to firing.
The collector also accused Communist Party of India-Marxist local leader Bandi Ramesh (who is a former Naxalite) and his followers of instigating the mob and provoking the police with his speech.
The police have booked two cases against Ramesh and his followers as per the complaints of the then circle inspector Surender Reddy and sub-inspector Venkat Reddy.
