Shirisha
Hyderabad: A woman in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district was on Tuesday, June 17, tied to a tree and flogged for not repaying a loan worth Rs 80,000.
The incident occurred in Narayanapuram village of Kuppam, the constituency of AP chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu. According to reports, 25-year-old Shirisha was beaten for failing to repay the loan.
The woman’s husband, Thimmarayappa, borrowed Rs 80,000 from Munikannappa of the same village three years ago. However, as he was unable to repay the loan, Thimmarayappa left Shirisha and their children behind.
It is worth noting that Munikanappa is reportedly affiliated with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Shirisha is a daily wage labourer who works in Narayanpuram. On Tuesday, Munikannappa saw the woman going for work and threatened to kill her if she didn’t repay the loan. Munikannappa dragged Shirisha, tied her to a tree and flogged her.
A video of the incident has gone viral on social media. Following the incident, Shirisha was taken to the hospital for treatment. Addressing the media at the hospital, Shirisha said, “I came to Narayanapuram to collect my son’s transfer certificate. While going back, two familiar men came on a bike and tried to snatch the TC and shred it.”
The woman added that she tried to stop the men, after which the accused dragged her towards the tree and tied her to it. “I sought some time to repay the loan when I have some money. However, they pulled my clothes and hit me,” Shirisha said.
Her son begged Munikanappa and others not to beat his mother. They continued to assault her physically despite intervention from passersby. The man waited for Sirisha outside the school while the victim collected her child’s TC. After Sirisha came out of the school, she was attacked.
The victim identified the accused as Munikanappa, Raja, Venkatamma and Jagdihwar. Shirisha said that she has three children, and one of them is handicapped.
A case was registered under BNS sections 115, 126, and 112 read with section 3 and police took five people into custody over the incident.
Upon learning about the incident, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu ordered an immediate investigation into the incident and strict action against those responsible.
He spoke to the Chittoor superintendent of police (SP) on the phone and got the details. The SP informed Naidu that the accused have already been arrested.
The CM asked the police chiefs to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the state and to be lax in maintaining law and order. He issued orders to the local authorities to support the victim’s family in every way.
Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y S Sharmila Reddy termed it an “inhuman and shameful act”.
Sharmila said it was a disgrace that such an incident happened in front of the victim’s children.
“As a woman, I strongly condemn this cruel incident,” said Sharmila in a press release, adding that this incident proved that even in the CM’s constituency, “women are not safe”.
She criticised the NDA coalition government, saying attacks on women are a blot on it, and tall claims about protecting Telugu women are no longer credible.
She demanded that the government take responsibility, ensure justice, provide support to Sirisha’s family, and prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.
This post was last modified on June 17, 2025 8:44 pm