Tension prevailed in Tenali town of Guntur district today after unidentified miscreants destroyed the statues of late congress leader Vangaveeti Mohan Ranga and veteran freedom fighter Prof. NG Ranga last night.

The district administration had rushed additional forces to the town as a precautionary measure and section 144 was imposed through out the town. Police are asking people through loud speakers not to gather on the main thoroughfares in the town.

Eye witnesses told police that two unidentified persons moved on motorbike and destroyed the NG Ranga statue at Pyca Nagar and Mohan Ranga statue at Nandula Peta with heavy boulders. Police have filed cases under sections 295 and 427 of the IPC and launched probe to catch the culprits responsible for the incident.

Reports said police recognized the damage immediately and got the statues repaired and reinstalled early in the morning as a precautionary measure. However, the attempts of police to keep the entire issue under wraps ended in failure and the people came to know of the incident in the morning.

Meanwhile, some followers of Mohan Ranga and NG Ranga had organized Rasta Roko on the Vijayawada-Tenali highway bringing the busy traffic to a grinding halt on an extent of 5 km. (JUBS)