M A I N   N E W S

90-year-old woman charged with murder, sent to jail!
Released after spending two weeks in prison
Suresh Dharur
Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, March 27
Ananta Manikyamma is a 90-year-old woman from fishermen community living in a coastal village in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. She has just been released from a prison where she spent two weeks, an ordeal she can never forget in her life.

Her crime? Attempt to murder policemen with lethal weapons! Manikyamma, who was at the scene of mass protest against a mega thermal power plant in her area last month, was charged under Section 370 of the IPC and sent to jail.

She was not alone. Several poor women, in their 60s and 70s, were arrested by the police on the charge of participating in the protests against the 2640 MW thermal power plant being set up near Kakarapalli village along the coastline.

“This is a classic instance of insensitivity on the part of police authorities. How can a 90-year old woman who cannot even walk properly attack policemen, leave alone attempt to murder. How can they consider her hand stick as a lethal weapon?” wondered S Rami Reddy, a sarpanch of Akasa Lakkavaram village spearheading the anti-thermal plant movement in the area.

While Manikyamma was taken into custody while she was resting at a temple in her village, another woman K Savithri (65) was picked up by the police when she was standing near her house which was badly damaged when the police had hurled smoke bombs to quell the mob on February 28. As many as 48 women were booked along with 400-odd men in connection with the violent clash between the protesters and the police.

The cases were filed against the agitators under Sections 147, 148, 149, 120-B, 307, 332 and 353 of the IPC, pertaining to unlawful assembly and possessing deadly weapons with a view to kill or attack, criminal conspiracy with a common object and obstructing a public servant while discharging duties.

The local villagers, environmentalists and the opposition parties have been opposing the plant on the ground that it would spell disaster for the local environment and displace thousands of fishermen families.

The government has already allotted 3,300 acres to East Coast Energy Pvt. Limited (ECEPL) for setting up the Rs 12,000 project.

The opponents of the plant contend that the project developer has violated environmental laws and was bent upon vandalising the precious eco-system. Following the police firing and subsequent public outcry, the government has ordered stoppage of works till further orders.

The main contention of the villagers is that the land levelling undertaken by the company resulted in flooding of the adjacent agricultural fields causing damage to the farmers and fishermen.

National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) had ordered in September last year that no filling and rising of land should be done beyond 1317 acres within the wetlands, of which 150 acres would be greenbelt. “But, the company has violated this order and went ahead with leveling of land beyond the extent of allotted land, leading to the flooding of adjacent fields and causing ecological damage to the area,” alleged noted environmentalist and former Union Energy Secretary EAS Sarma.