E-Paper
Dead bodies dumped in Andhra valley fearing spread of infection
Three persons of Yanadi community, a nomadic tribe, allegedly died due to consumption of contaminated water in Andhra Pradesh and their bodies were dumped in a valley after the villagers feared spread of infection
The bodies of three persons who allegedly died due to consumption of contaminated water were dumped in a valley by their kin after the villagers refused to allow their funeral in their native place in Andhra Pradesh’s YSR Kadapa district, police said on Wednesday.
The incident happened on July 13 and came to light only on Tuesday after the police identified the bodies and sent them to the post mortem. “We have booked a case of suspicious deaths. No arrests have been made so far,” Kadapa (rural) inspector of police, Sriram Srinivas told HT.
The deceased were identified as Chenchaiah (60), Chenchu Ramaiah (25) and Bharati (26), from Yanadi Colony of Gorlamudiveedu village of Rayachoti block in Annamayya district.
According to the police inspector, a group of 12 people, all belonging to Yanadi community, a nomadic tribe, led by one Basavaiah, went to Karnataka’s Gulbarga in the first week of July to work in a charcoal making unit.
“These tribes go from place to place in search of work. At one of the places in the Karnataka border, they dug up deep pits in the soil for producing springs of drinking water. Many of the group members, who consumed this water, suffered from vomiting and gastro-enteritis within hours,” Srinivas said.
Immediately, Basavaiah took them to the local hospital, where they were administered saline and given basic medicines. “The doctors advised them to go back to their native place for better treatment. As they were returning, one of them, a 10-year-old girl, succumbed near Kurnool and she was buried there itself,” the inspector said.
When they were reaching Kadapa in two different vehicles, three others also died of gastro-enteritis. “When Basavaiah called up the village elders and informed them about the deaths, they feared that the victims might have succumbed to some mysterious disease and if the bodies were brought to the village, the infection might spread to all the other villagers. So, the elders suggested that the bodies be buried far away from the village,” Srinivas said.
Apparently convinced by the village elders, Basavaiah, along with Chenchaiah’s son Shivaji packed the three dead bodies in a plastic sheet and dumped them in a valley on Guvvalacheruvu hills on the borders of Kadapa-Annamayya districts, before returning to their village.
The bodies, however, did not fall deep into the valley, but got stuck up between rocks and trees, a few metres away from the main road. At around midnight of July 12, some passers-by on the road informed the police that the entire area was stinking and they had noticed some dead bodies.
“On July 13 morning, we rushed there and retrieved the bodies, which were decomposed beyond recognition. We shifted the bodies to the mortuary and booked a case of suspicious death. Based on the labels on the clothes of one of the victims, we started making inquiries. As many as eight teams were constituted to unravel the mystery behind the dead bodies and six days later, we finally found that they belonged to Annamayya district,” Srinivas said.
The police took Basavaiah into custody and questioned him to find out the reason behind the deaths and the dumping of the bodies in the valley.
A team of the district police was also sent to Gulbarga to find out whether they really died of gastroenteritis or any other reason. Kadapa Superintendent of Police K K N Anburajan said investigation was still on and more details wil be disclosed on Thursday.
