NAVEENA GHANATE
The violent confrontation on Monday in Vikarabad district over proposed land acquisition for a pharma cluster in Vikarabad district, which resulted in vicious attacks on officials and damage to several government vehicles, has assumed political connotations with allegations of political influence behind the attack involving high-profile figures.
On a day of swift developments, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former Telangana MLA Patnam Narender Reddy was arrested from Film Nagar in Jubilee Hills on Wednesday for his involvement in the attack on Vikarabad district officials. He was remanded in custody for 14 days by the court.
As per the Remand Diary, “Patnam Narender Reddy was apprehended on 13-11-2024 at 07:02 hours at his house at Film Nagar at Hyderabad and brought to camp at CI office at Parigi at 09:30 hours. On tactful interrogation, he confessed to have committed this offence with criminal conspiracy by abetting the accused persons in order to destabilize/deteriorate the Govt. and also to gain political mileage and defame the government of Telangana as per the directions of their party prominent leader i.e., KTR and others. Further, he also confessed that he frequently contacted the accused Suresh over his phone to assess execution of their acts.”
The Vikarabad Police picked up Patnam Narender Reddy, a former MLA from Kodangal, from his residence after it was found during investigation that he had been touch with B. Suresh Raj, the absconding main accused in the attack in which two officials were injured. There were 84 calls made between Suresh and Patnam since September, including three over Monday and Tuesday. Suresh Raj is a leader of the
youth wing of BRS in Dudyala Mandal, according to officials.
Vikarabad District Collector Prateek Jain, Additional Collector G. Lingya Naik, and Kodangal Area Development Authority (KADA) Chairman Venkat Reddy were attacked by a mob in Lagacharla village when they were conducting a public hearing involving farmers whose lands may have to be acquired for developing a proposed ‘Pharma village’, comprising a cluster of pharma companies.
In the aftermath of the attack, on Wednesday Patnam Narender Reddy was produced before the Kodangal court, which remanded him in custody for 14 days. Following the court’s order, he was transferred to Cherlapally Jail.
According to IG Satyanarayana of the Vikarabad District Multi Zone, Narender Reddy was named as the prime accused (A1) in the case. In total, 47 people were initially detained in connection with the incident, 16 of whom were remanded.
On Wednesday, five more individuals were arrested and remanded. Four teams continue to search for additional suspects involved in the attack.
Authorities disclosed that some individuals, including one identified as Suresh, had prior cases registered against them for allegedly misleading officials. The police stated that 19 of those involved in the attack did not own any land affected by the acquisition. Furthermore, IG Satyanarayana reported that numerous farmers were questioned and later released.
In the remand report, the police claimed that the attack was part of a conspiracy to tarnish the government’s image and was allegedly orchestrated with the involvement of senior political figures. Narender Reddy reportedly admitted to having been in frequent contact with Suresh, who allegedly played a crucial role in inciting the violence. The police also indicated that the actions were purportedly linked to instructions from high-ranking officials.
According to the remand case diary, government officials, including Vikarabad’s District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrates, and police personnel, were ambushed by a mob allegedly incited to obstruct the officials’ work. The remand report suggests that the villagers were encouraged to oppose the acquisition by any means necessary, leading to an organized assault involving stones, sticks, and even red chili powder. Several officials sustained injuries, and multiple government vehicles were damaged in the violent attack.
The initial remand report, in which Suresh was named A1, mentioned this as “attempt to murder by assaulting on public servants by obstructing the duties with violent acts.”
In this case with criminal conspiracy, the accused persons were well prepared to attack the government officials either with sticks and stones or with red chill powder with an intention to kill them so as enable to keep their lands with them.
Accordingly, as per their pre plan, the accused persons at first sent the accused Suresh to the Collector, Vikarabad to request him to come to the village and when the Collector, along with government officials reached the village, the accused persons formed into an unlawful assembly by executing their plan and attacked the government officials with stones and sticks with an intention to kill them.
Ministers slam attack on officials
Telangana Ministers Damodar Rajanarasimha and Sridhar Babu have strongly condemned the attack on officials on Monday in Lagacharla village of Dudyala Mandal in Kodangal constituency, Vikarabad district.
During a visit to check on the well-being of Venkat Reddy, Special Officer of the Kodangal Area Development Authority, upon his being discharged from the hospital, the Ministers expressed their disapproval of the incident and demanded that democratic principles be upheld.
Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha emphasized that violence had no place in a democratic society. He suggested that protests should remain peaceful and officials visiting communities to address
public concerns must be respected. “Our government values the opinions and suggestions of the public and takes steps to benefit the people. Any involvement in this attack will be met with strict legal action, but innocent people will not be punished,” Rajanarasimha assured.
He recalled that protests in the past over land acquisitions for projects like Mallanna Sagar, Kondapochamma Sagar, and Ranganayaka Sagar were peaceful and achieved through legal avenues. Rajanarasimha pointed out that during those protests, which lasted for years, people never resorted to violence but instead voiced their grievances to officials.
Minister Sridhar Babu echoed these sentiments and described the attack as unfortunate, and surmised a political angle behind the incident. He stated, “Officials come to villages to gather opinions and suggestions for public welfare. Violence will not achieve anything, and those responsible for this incident will face consequences.” Sridhar Babu reiterated the importance of expressing concerns through legal and peaceful means.
The Ministers, accompanied by Chevella MLA Kale Yadayya, Ranga Reddy District Library Corporation Chairman Madhusudhan Reddy, LB Nagar leader Muddagonni Ram Mohan Goud, and senior Congress leaders, extended their sympathies to Venkat Reddy and his family. They reiterated that the government would take stringent action against those involved in the attack.
