Startling revelation in stampede incident
Rajahmundry, July 18: East Godavari district administration drew strong criticism from various quarters over the Rajahmundry stampede incident in which 27 persons were killed. But in a startling revelation, police found CC TV footage that showed the revenue officials removing barricades at the ghat as per the directives of Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana and local MLA Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary. According to media reports, senior police officials also confirmed that barricades were removed on the insistence of Narayana. Actually, four-line barricades were erected but three lines were removed on the day. When contacted, MLA Gorantla refuted the reports and claimed that all the four-line barricades were intact during the stampede. District Collector H Arun Kumar said that he has no information on changes in crowd management plans.
