Mahmmadapur (Karimnagar): : For many people in Telangana, September 17 is a day to celebrate officially as the Telangana Liberation Day to commemorate the region’s freedom from the erstwhile Nizam rule. But for the people of Mahammadapur and its surrounding villages in Husnabad mandal in Karimnagar district, it still remains a tragic day because 12 brave men had laid down their lives for the village in an encounter with the Nizam police forces, supposedly the first encounter in the history of region.The Maandapuram Hills encounter was one of the biggest and cruel chapters in the history of Telangana Armed Struggle. Twelve men, including two villagers, were shot dead by the Nizam forces as the locals witnessed the incident from a distance. On the eve of the Telangana Liberation Day, villagers visited the historical hillock of Mahammadapur, also known as Maandapuram Hills, on Friday, about 40 km from the district headquarters. Senior citizens of the village, who were in their teens when the massacre took place, recall the incident that they claim is still very fresh in their memory. A few of them narrated the encounter to this correspondent and their emotions associated with it. Pittla Komuraiah, a 70-year-old, was an eyewitness to the encounter in 1948 narrated the incident. “I was a teenager then and went for cattle grazing towards the hillock. It happened on March 14, 1948 when the firing began between the Nizam police and personnel from Telangana Armed Forces. On reliable information that the troops were hiding in the hillock, about 600 Nizam police had encircled the hillock and hid in caves and other secret places. The exchange of fire between the two groups rocked the hillock for nearly six hours, followed by a complete lull. Later, 12 members of the Telangana Armed Forces and five police were killed in the fire exchange while one of the troops escaped. The Telangana Armed Forces troop was led by Anabheri Prabhakar Rao who fought for liberation of Telangana from Nizam Rule,” Komuraiah said.A Telangana Armed Forces Martyrs Memorial was constructed on the hillock in memory of the 12 valiant men who gave their lives for Telangana. Anabheri Prabhakar Rao, Singireddi Bhoopathi Reddy, Musku Chokka Reddy, Eleti Malla Reddy, Aireddy Bhoom Reddy, Tumoju Narayana, T Damodar Reddy , Ellandu Papaiah, Poreddy Ram Reddy, Nalgonda Rajaram, Sikkudu Saiulu and Rodla Madhava Reddy were killed during the encounter. But one, Gattepalli Muralidhar Rao had escaped with injuries. Another person who was a victim to the harassment of Nizam police was sage Mallaiah. Explaining how Mallaiah was beaten up by the police, his son Swamy said, Mallaiah was treated like a bonded labour by the police and was tortured to ferret out information about the troops. “They had warned my father not to serve food or provide any service to the troops who visited the village,” Swamy added. According to Komuraiah, the aftermath of the encounter was even worse. Nizam police had shot two innocent people on the outskirts of the village for not revealing to them the whereabouts of Telangana Armed Forces, Komuraiah lamented.“Later, the police had visited my village and beat up everyone. Even their behaviour with women was cruel. It is a nightmarish tragedy etched in memory,” he said in a tone tinged with sadness.
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