Guntur: After the December incident of plantations being burnt in villages where farmers have been opposing the Andhra Pradesh government’s land pooling scheme for the new capital city, paddy stocks on a 3.5-acre farmland in Kaza village of Mangalagiri mandal was reduced to ashes on Wednesday.

Police led by Guntur Range IG P.V. Sunil Kumar, Guntur Urban SP Rajesh Kumar and joint collector Ch. Sridhar, who reached the spot, are now investigating possible links with the earlier fires in December.

Farmer Appikatla Muralikrishna had harvested his crop seven days ago and stored the yield, covered with grass, called puri in local parlance. Farmers noticed smoke coming from the farmer’s puri early in the morning.