Andhra police arrest 899 for rail, road blockades

The Andhra Pradesh police took 899 persons into custody from across the state on Tuesday for a spate of rail and road blockades held as part of protests in support and against separate Telangana state.

The agitators from both the sides, the supporters and opponents of Telangana, resorted to different types of protests including 240 road blockades, 136 rail blockades besides resorting to dharnas in 12  places, seven incidents of burning of effigies, a release from the Andhra Pradesh director general of police office said on Tuesday night.

The protesters continued with indefinite fasts at 11 places and organised 231 relay fasts and took out 143 rallies in different districts of Telangana, Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.

Agitators also resorted to violent activities in Nalgonda district in Telangana region by setting fire to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) office at Vemulapally besides damaging a state transport bus at Bhongir. Criminal cases were booked against those who indulged in violent activities.

The protesters detained trains in Vijayawada, Guntur, Guntakal and Secunderabad divisions of South Central Railways and trains were stopped for a duration ranging from 10 minutes to five hours. The maximum detentions took place near Vikarabad in Rangareddy district and Karimnagar district, as per a release.