The tragic death of three persons, including a woman, in the stampede caused at a clothes and gifts distribution event in Guntur town on Sunday night has brought to light the name of Vuyyur Foundation, a Guntur-based non-governmental organisation who held the event.
The Vuyyur Foundation, floated by a non-resident India Vuyyur Srinivas, was hitherto not a very known organisation. Not many people are aware of who this Srinivas is.
The poor people gathered at Guntur town only because the NGO has tied up with the Telugu Desam Party and invited party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu to the event – to address the gathering and distribute the gifts to a few people as a token measure.
According to the police, the organisers applied for the police permission stating that they had made arrangements for distribution of gifts and sarees to around 10,000 people.
“But they mobilised nearly 20,000 people and did not make proper arrangements for the distribution of gifts. There were only five or six counters, while the turnout was huge. As a result, they threw up hands,” an eye-witness said.
Even these five or six counters were closed down soon after Naidu left the place and the organisers told the crowds that they would arrange the gifts to their respective houses. This resulted in stampede, leading to deaths, the police said.
Enquiries revealed that Vuyyuru Srinivas is closely related to former TDP MLA from Tenali Alapati Rajendra Prasad, alias Raja. He is a resident of Virginia in the US and is said to be interested in entering politics in Andhra.
Sources said he has been lobbying for the TDP ticket in the next assembly elections from Guntur (West) assembly constituency.
As part of this lobbying, he reportedly agreed to extend financial support to the extent of Rs 100 crore to the forthcoming padayatra of Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh.
Now that the stampede incident brought a bad name to the TDP, Srinivas has come forward to pay Rs 20 lakh to each of the families of the three victims.
He is arrested by Guntur police, as the police booked him under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
