Aggressively responding to villagers’ protest and attack against district collector and other officials on Monday in Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s native constituency Kodangal opposing land acquisition for a pharma company, the police resorted to arrests on a massive scale. After the arrest of more than 50 villagers on Tuesday, they arrested former Kodangal MLA Patnam Narender Reddy on Wednesday.
He was taken into custody while taking a morning walk at KBR Park in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. It seems that Narender Reddy has been arrested on charges of conspiracy in the attack on the Vikarabad Collector. The police action started from midnight on Monday in Lagacharla village of Dudyala mandal of Vikarabad district after the attack on officials.
At midnight the power supply was stopped, the internet services were shut down, the doors of houses were broken and searches were conducted. About 300 policemen caught and arrested 55 people. They were taken to the police station. After the investigation, 16 farmers were remanded to court.
The court sentenced them to 14 days of judicial custody and shifted them to Parigi Sub Jail. Internet services are usually suspended in the relevant areas during religious conflicts and other major crimes. However, internet services were also suspended in the surrounding mandals following the attack during the farmers’ protest in Lagacherla.
Authorities in Dudyala, Kodangal and Bomraspet mandals completely suspended internet services. Along with Lagacherla, where pharma companies are planning to set up, there was a quiet atmosphere in Hakimpet, Polepalli, Rotibanda Thanda and Pulicherla Kunta Thandas on Tuesday. Several houses were locked.
Obstacles preventing anyone from going to Lagacherla. The police stopped the BRS team from coming to express solidarity with the victims of Lagacherla in Dudyala mandal. Checkpoints were set up to prevent anyone from going towards Lagacherla and vehicle inspections were carried out. Check posts have been set up in Parigi and Manneguda and other places.
Opposition leader Madhusudhanachari, BRS state leader RS Praveen Kumar, former MLAs of Vikarabad, Kodangal and Parigi, Methu Anand, Patnam Narender Reddy, Koppula Mahesh Reddy, former BC Commission member Subhaprad Patel and state leader Karthik Reddy were intercepted and arrested by the police in Manneguda itself, while leaving for Lagacharla from Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, SP Vikarabad SP Narayana Reddy warned that legal action will be taken against those responsible for the attack on the Collector and other officials in Dudyala Mandal Lagacharla. He said that security arrangements have been made during the public consultation of officials in Lagacharla. He said that since no farmers came to the meeting place, the collector went to Lagacharla along with the officials, and after they left, the villagers attacked the officials three times.
