As chilli farmer ‘kills self’, Naidu says CM behind fire

As a small-time chilli farmer, whose entire stock of the spice was reduced to ashes in Saturday’s fire at the market yard here...

As a small-time chilli farmer, whose entire stock of the spice was reduced to ashes in Saturday’s fire at the market yard here, allegedly committed suicide on Monday, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu alleged that the market yard chairman and Youth Congress leader L Appi Reddy, in connivance with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, had engineeed the fire for selling the 50-acre site to realtors.

Naidu visited the fire-ravaged site, which was Asia’s largest chilli market, on Monday. Addressing the farmers, whose produce was gutted, he described the Chief Minister as a gangster, and said the state is under rowdy rule.

Market yard chairman Appi Reddy and his men protested against the sweeping allegatgions of Naidu. There were skirmishes between Congressmen and TDP supporters. As tension mounted, police intervened and separated the waring groups. There was more tension when news came of S Raghava Rao’s “suicide”. The farmer, who owned five acres, was a tenant on another five acres. He had borrowed Rs 2 lakh for cultivation expenses.

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According to the police, he was unable to bear the loss of around 200 quintal of chillies destroyed in the fire. He ended his life at his native village Ravipadu in the district.

Andhra Pradesh Transport Minister K Lakshminarayana has announced ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to Rao’s family.