Eight persons, including a woman, were killed and six injured when police opened fire on Saturday to quell violence in this district during a shutdown called by Left parties in Andhra Pradesh to demand distribution of land to the poor.Police opened fire when a mob in Modugonda Mandal headquarters started pelting stones at policemen, injuring eight personnel. Supporters of the shutdown had squatted on a road in Modugonda since morning, disrupting traffic. When police tried to disperse them at about 1.00 pm, the protestors began pelting stones.The firing was strongly condemned by political parties even as Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy announced a judicial probe into the incident and the transfer of Khammam SP R K Meena. He also announced the suspension of Additional SP Ramesh Babu. Home Minister K Jana Reddy ordered a departmental inquiry and deputed IGP Purnachander Rao to go to Modugonda to ascertain the circumstances that led to the firing.The day-long shutdown was called by the CPI(M) and CPI in support of their demand to provide land to the landless. Normal life was disrupted as activists of both parties organised rail and road blockades across the state.Condemning the police firing, the Left parties called a shutdown in Khammam district on Sunday.
