A Nalgonda district court sentenced Aluru Venkatanarayana to 10 years in prison and fined him Rs 5,000 for causing an accident that killed 15 farm workers and injured 17 others

HYDERABAD: A Nalgonda district court on Monday sentenced Aluru Venkatanarayana to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 for his role in an accident that claimed the lives of 15 farm workers and injured 17 others.
Another accused, D Nageswar Rao, was fined Rs 5,000 for his involvement in the case.
The accident occurred in June 2018 at Valigonda, under the jurisdiction of the Rachakonda commissionerate.
According to police, the victims including several women, were being transported in a tractor trolley to work in a cotton field when Venkatanarayana, who was driving, lost control due to rash and negligent driving. The vehicle overturned and plunged into the Musi river canal, trapping several labourers underneath.
Passers-by rushed to rescue the victims and shifted them to a government hospital in Ramannapet, but 15 succumbed to their injuries, while 17 others survived with multiple injuries.
Police later arrested Venkatanarayana for reckless driving without a valid licence and booked Rao for assisting him.
A chargesheet was filed, and during the trial, the special court for the Prevention of Atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes examined witnesses and evidence before convicting the two.