Eleven opposition political parties, including Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India, Telugu Desam Party and Telangana Rashtra Samithi, on Monday petitioned Andhra Pradesh Governor Rameshwar Thakur to order booking of a criminal case of murder against the police officers responsible for the police firing at Mudigonda on July 28 in which six persons were killed and eight others sustained bullet injuries.

Leaders of these parties, including CPI-M state secretary B V Raghuvulu, CPI state secretary Dr K Narayana, TDP leader T Devender Goud and TRS MLA Nayani Narasimha Reddy, called on the Governor at the Raj Bhavan Monday afternoon and submitted a memorandum on the police firing incident.

They also demanded that the judicial inquiry ordered by the state government into the police firing should be conducted by a sitting judge of the High Court. They also wanted all injured persons to be provided with better medical care under the supervision of super-specialists.

The Opposition leaders wanted proposals placed before the government to resolve the issues of house sites and land for the poor to be accepted and all repressive measures to be stopped forthwith. They sought the withdrawal of all cases foisted on the participants of the land movement.

They told the Governor that, besides six persons who died in the police firing, some more persons who sustained bullet injuries in the firing were in a critical condition. A woman, who was seriously injured in the lathi charge in Khammam, was in state of coma.

'This police firing is wholly unwarranted. Mudigonda is a small rural centre where not more than 300 to 400 persons gathered to peacefully organize the bandh on July 28 in connection with the ongoing agitation demanding land to the poor. If it was the intention of the police to disperse the crowd, there were many other options available other than resorting to firing. There was absolutely no necessity to deploy anti-Naxalite (elite commando) squads. As many as 100 rounds were fired upon the small crowd peacefully agitating. This goes to show that the police firing is totally premeditated,' the memorandum said.

'A peaceful non-violent agitation is going on since the last 100 days throughout the state demanding house-sites and land for the poor. The state government miserably failed in resolving the issue peacefully through a dialogue. It has paid a deaf ear to the justified demand of the poor. It is most unfortunate that the government chose the dictatorial method of suppressing the movement by using force. This repressive approach of the Government resulted in the present tense situation,' the opposition leaders pointed out.