Tense moments in Huzurabad as MLA Kaushik Reddy and others stage sit-in protest

Tense situation prevailed for some time in Huzurabad on Thursday when BRS MLA from Huzurabad P. Kaushik Reddy along with his family members and followers staged a sit-in protest on the main road insisting that they be allowed to go to the ongoing annual tribal fair — Sammakka Saralamma Maha Jatara in Veenavanka.

The MLA and others squatted on the main road alleging that the police were preventing them from heading to the Jatara. They picked up a heated argument with the police accusing them of imposing curbs on their movement. However, the local police refuted the charges levelled by Mr Reddy against them. Some of the protesters raised slogans against the police.

The MLA expressed his ire at the police and warned of ‘serious consequences’ after three years for what he called their ‘arbitrary curbs’ on their movement. Police had a tough time in dispersing the protesters.

Sources said that the police stepped up efforts to ensure crowd management and smooth conduct of the annual Jatara at Veenavanka, visited by hordes of devotees from far and wide.