Nineteen persons have been arrested in connection with the violence that broke out on May 24 in Amalapuram town of Andhra Pradesh’s Konaseema district, The News Minute reported on Friday, citing the police.
The homes of Andhra Pradesh Transport Minister Pinipe Viswarup and MLA Ponnada Satish were set on fire by protestors during a demonstration against the newly-created Konaseema district being renamed BR Ambedkar Konaseema district.
The protestors also set a police vehicle and a bus on fire. Twenty police officers were injured in the violence.
The Konaseema district was carved out of the East Godavari on May 4.
Forty-six people had been detained on May 25 based on evidence gathered by the police, said Pala Raju, deputy inspector general of police of Eluru range. Provocative messages were sent on 20 WhatsApp groups that were active before the violence, the police officer said, according to The News Minute.
“When we checked their phones, we found that several messages had been deleted from various groups,” Raju said. “Many people had also left the groups after the incident. We [have] also identified the group admins, they too will soon face action.”
The police officer said that the violence was a planned as protestors who had gathered in Amalapuram from neighbouring towns such as Ainavilli, Ambajipeta, P Gannavaram and Allavaram were carrying sachets filled with petrol. These were used to set fire, Raju said.
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