Woman dies during protest over SC categorization

A woman died in a stampede during a protest here on Monday to demand categorization of Scheduled Castes to ensure judicious distribution of reservation among all SC communities.

The incident occurred when activists of Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti (MRPS) tried to lay siege to the office of the Hyderabad District Collector, demanding a Constitutional amendment for categorization of SCs.

Tension prevailed as police tried to stop the protestors from barging into the office premises.

Bharati, one of the activists of MRPS, fell down during the jostling. She fell unconscious and was shifted to the government-run Osmania Hospital where she died while being treated.

Making a statement in the Telangana Assembly, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao announced Rs 25 lakh compensation for the family of Bharati. Cutting across party lines, the House expressed anguish over the incident.

The Chief Minister also responded positively to the demand by opposition parties that a member of the deceased's family be provided job. Rao said if she has small children, the government will bear the expenses for their education till post graduation.

The protestors had raised slogans against the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government and demanded that the Chief Minister lead an all-party delegation to Delhi to exert pressure on the central government to table a Constitutional amendment bill in Parliament.

--IANS

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