YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday accused the NDA government in Andhra Pradesh of deliberately diluting the Disha programme launched during his tenure after a minor girl was set ablaze in Kadapa district by a married man. Reddy called the incident a failure of both the state government and the police system.

In a lengthy post on the social media platform ‘X’, the former chief minister expressed his concerns about the deteriorating law and order situation in the state and criticised the NDA government.

“The incident of pouring petrol on a college student in Badvel and setting her on fire is extremely heinous and evil. My deepest condolences to her family. This reflects the failure of the state government and police systems.”

He alleged that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has been cancelling the programmes and schemes introduced by the previous government. “Isn’t this proof of the deliberate watering down of the revolutionary Disha programme brought in by the YSRCP government to ensure the safety of girls and women?” Reddy wrote. The Disha app was designed for women and young girls, allowing them to notify authorities by pressing the SOS button or waving their phone five times, which would alert the command control room and the nearest police station.

Reddy launched the Disha programme in Andhra Pradesh after a veterinary doctor was raped and murdered on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The YSRCP leader claimed that the Disha programme came to the rescue of 31,607 women and girls, with over 1.5 crore downloads, and wondered why it was diluted. He also claimed that 13 POSCO courts, 12 women’s courts, and forensic labs were specially set up to strengthen the Disha programme.

The horrific incident took place in Gopavaram mandal in Kadapa district. According to the police, the accused Vignesh, who was allegedly in a relationship with the victim, had planned to eliminate her. Already married and with a pregnant wife, Vignesh is accused of setting the 16-year-old on fire. She was studying in the first year of intermediate at a private college in Badvel and suffered 80 per cent burns, ultimately succumbing to her injuries on Sunday while undergoing treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Kadapa.