An elderly man –a YSRCP supporter who went to meet former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy – is said to have been knocked down by Reddy’s car in Sattenapalli. YSRCP party chief Reddy continued the rally, apparently unaware of the accident, Times of India reported.
Cheeli Singaiah, 65, was reportedly run over by Reddy’s vehicle on Wednesday when he slipped and fell off the vehicle while trying to shower flowers on him. According to officials, the man’s neck was crushed under the vehicle’s front right wheel.
Guntur Superintendent of Police S Satish Kumar told Indian Express that the man was first taken to a nearby hospital by police and YSRCP supporters and later shifted to Guntur Government Hospital, but he died en route.
Initially, it was believed that Singaiah got injured after climbing onto a vehicle in Jagan’s convoy and falling off. However, viral videos on social media now show him being run over by the vehicle carrying Jagan. Singaiah “unfortunately fell down in front of the convoy and was run over”, SP was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
Singaiah, a resident of Vengalayapalem village, had come to greet Jagan with flowers. The incident took place as Jagan was returning from Rentapalla village in Palnadu district, where he had gone to console the family of a former sarpanch who had died by suicide, allegedly due to police harassment.
A massive crowd trailed Jagan’s convoy during his journey from Tadepalli to Rentapalla village.
Despite police granting permission for only three vehicles and around 100 people, an unexpectedly large number of supporters gathered and surrounded Jagan’s vehicle along the route.
Among them was party activist Singaiah, who reportedly attempted to get close to the former chief minister’s vehicle to shower it with flowers.
On the same day, another YSRCP supporter, 30-year-old P. Jayvardhan Reddy, collapsed during a commotion among Jagan’s supporters near the Sattenapalli clock tower. He was declared brought dead at the Guntur Government Hospital.
