Police have convinced a 70-year-old man to drop his long-contemplated plans of burying himself alive in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district. Apparently, he did not want to continue living in a country that “suffered from so much crime and public apathy”.
Police said Tathireddy Lachi Reddy of Gannavaram village stated to the police in a letter dated July 24 that he was planning to attain ‘Sajeeva Samadhi (live burial)’ because the country was not fit to inhabit anymore. He then dug a five-foot pit in his field and cemented it from inside. He also kept cement and stone blocks around the grave, so the pit could be covered up once he had entered it.
Upon receiving the letter, a team of police officers led by Macherla rural inspector Dileep Kumar and sub-inspector Lokeshwar Rao went to Gannavaram and asked the old man to drop his plan. “We informed him that taking such a step would amount to committing suicide, which itself is a crime. He agreed after thorough counselling,” said Rao.
Tathireddy – who owns 10 acres of land in the village – is married and has two sons, although he doesn’t live with them. His second son, Ramakrishna Reddy, told police that Tathireddy had turned spiritual over the last 10 years. He was said to be inspired by the writings of Potuluri Veera Brahmendra Swamy, a ninth-century Hindu sage and oracle, whose book ‘Kalagnanam’ made a lot of predictions about the future.
{{/usCountry}}Tathireddy – who owns 10 acres of land in the village – is married and has two sons, although he doesn’t live with them. His second son, Ramakrishna Reddy, told police that Tathireddy had turned spiritual over the last 10 years. He was said to be inspired by the writings of Potuluri Veera Brahmendra Swamy, a ninth-century Hindu sage and oracle, whose book ‘Kalagnanam’ made a lot of predictions about the future.
{{/usCountry}}“He left his family and took to staying alone in a small room constructed on his land. His family members would provide him with food and water every day,” the sub-inspector said.
When confronted by the local media, Tathireddy said there was no place for justice in either Andhra Pradesh or the country. “People are turning selfish. I don’t want to see them sinning like this anymore,” he added.