Cycle of killings leaves AP villagers shocked

Veldurthy, a dusty sleepy village tucked away on the fringes of the Nallamala forest, has not slept since the gruesome killing of nine Congress party supporters despite being hardened by years of bloody factionalism which culminated in Saturday's bloodbath.

But for family feuds there is no politics involved in the Veldurthy factional war. It is no better in five other faction-ravaged districts of the Andhra Pradesh.

Eight Congress party supporters were killed when their jeep hit a landmine planted by their Telugu Desam Party (TDP) detractors in Anantapur district in March 1995. Eight more were killed by a crude bomb hurled by TDP supporters in Kurnool district in October 1998.

Eleven months ago, seven Congress supporters were killed by the same adversary in Cuddapah district on April 11, 2000.

Only the police appear complacent enough to say periodically that factionalism has been curbed despite an estimated 414 men dying in 1999 and 2000.

Joolakanti Nagi Reddy, the dead husband of the Macherla Legislator Durgamba and Joolakanti Sambi Reddy, killed on Saturday, were cousins. Nagi Reddy was twice elected as Legislator of the Macherla Assembly constituency – as an independent once and as a Congressman next. While Nagi Reddy rode a wave of popularity, Sambi Reddy confined himself to village politics.

When Nagi Reddy moved to Hyderabad, the task of keeping supporters together fell on Sambi Reddy, an assignment which took him closer to his brother-in-law Pinnelli Lakshma Reddy – a senior Congress party politician.

The newly forged alliance force irked the Nagi Reddy group because of political differences between the Joolakanti and Pinnelli families.

Strangely, despite their differences, both families stayed with the Congress party till 1994 when the Congress selected Pinnelli Sundararami Reddy, younger brother of Lakshma Reddy, as its candidate, ignoring Nagi Reddy who gravitated towards the TDP and supported the TDP candidate in that election. Both politicians died later.

Nagi Reddy's son, Joolakanti Brahma Reddy, began providing leadership to the group orphaned by his father's death. In 1998, supporters of the Brahma Reddy group killed a supporter of the Sambi Reddy as the two were talking on the village main road.

Soon, another Sambi Reddy supporter died from poisoning under mysterious circumstances and Sambi Reddy fled the village. Amid attempts to wreak vengeance against each other, the Congress party fielded Lakshma Reddy while the TDP chose Durgamba, the mother of Brahma Reddy proving both parties to be equally relentless in their political goals.

This time Sambi Reddy openly supported his brother-in-law and when the group lost the election they killed Durgamba's election manager in broad daylight soon afterwards. Retaliating, the Brahma Reddy group damaged houses, farms and borewells owned by the Sambi Reddy group in the village. Twenty-three supporters were arrested by the police who raided a Sambi Reddy hideout and seized 388 country-made bombs.

Later, two Sambi Reddy supporters died in a freak mishap in Kandlakunta village when country-made bombs they were drying in an open yard exploded injuring four others and Sambi Reddy himself. In retaliation, the Sambi Reddy group damaged eight borewells and pumpsets owned by the Brahma Reddy group.