AP Govt To Give Rs 5 lakh Compensation for Seethanagaram Assault Victim

GUNTUR: Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharitha and Women Welfare Minister Thaneti Vanitha, on Monday visited the victim who was sexually assaulted in the Sitanagaram area near Tadepalli in Guntur district. The victim was undergoing treatment at the Government General Hospital in Guntur. The Minister announced a sum of Rs 5 lakh for the victim as compensation.

The young woman who was working as a nurse in a private hospital at Vijayawada had gone to the Pushkar Ghat at Seethanagaram on Saturday night along with her fiancé who an employee of a petrol pump in Gandhinagar. The couple were to be married, but the pandemic had stalled their wedding plans. When they were about to leave, two men had attacked them and tied her fiancé with a rope, and allegedly sexually assaulted her. They fled from the spot in a boat, after stealing their phones.

The injured couple somehow managed to reach the Prakasam Barrage at around midnight and informed the police on duty there about what happened. Additional SP Eshwara Rao, Mangalagiri DSP Durga Prasad, Tadepalli CI Seshagiri Rao swung into action and first shifted the victim to Government General Hospital in Guntur for treatment. The couple lodged a formal complaint with Tadepalli police on Sunday.

Ministers Sucharita and Thaneti Vanitha spoke to the victim and asked her to be brave and assured her that the accused would be caught soon.

Speaking on the occasion, Home Minister M Sucharita said that, "The incident on the banks of the Krishna river was a heinous act. We have sought immediate action to be taken for the culprits to be caught and we will not spare anyone. Four police teams have already been deployed to locate them. We will ensure steps to be taken to prevent this from happening in the future. We will take further steps in the future to expedite the investigation. We are setting up forensic labs in three places and we are already recruiting staff for these labs. We are setting up surveillance systems and enhancing security to prevent such things from happening, ‘’ she said. ‘’We will also set up CCTV cameras especially in that area, ”she said.

Minister Thaneti Vanitha expressed regret over the Sitanagaram incident and said that it was most unfortunate. She said that Rs 5 lakh compensation was being extended to the victim on behalf of the government. We will provide another Rs 50,000 from the Department of Women and Child Welfare, she said.

The Guntur Urban police formed special teams to nab the accused. Police have identified some suspects based on signals from the cell tower locations there, CCTV footage, and details provided by the victims, Urban SP Arif Hafeez said. The role of notorious ‘blade batch’ members was being suspected in the attack and one person was already caught by the Vijayawada police and they are on the lookout for the second offender. The police are questioning suspects, including history-sheeters in and around Tadepalli areas. Few people from Vijayawada-Tadepalli areas with criminal backgrounds were taken into custody for questioning.

Andhra Pradesh Women’s Commission Chairperson Vasireddy Padma condemned the assault and assured the victim’s family that severe action will be taken against the accused.

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