Hyderabad:

‘Arrest me if you can’ – Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader KT Rama Rao’s dare to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy Thursday afternoon, after he was named in a police case linked to the violence in Vikarabad district this week. “Arrest me! I will walk into prison with my head held high for standing by the farmers of Telangana,” Mr Rama Rao, popularly called KTR, posted on X.

He was responding to rumours he may shortly be arrested. The BRS’ Patnam Reddy – ‘Accused No 1’, the cops have said – was arrested Wednesday, and he reportedly said KTR ordered the attack.

“First, it is a false and fabricated case… I want to say to Revanth Reddy, ‘if you are so interested in arresting me, then please do it’. But the 21 poor farmers in jail (arrested in the aftermath of villagers attacking a team of officials) should be released,’ KT Rama Rao, or KTR, told news agency ANI.

“The Revanth Reddy government has been an abysmal failure… everyone can see how there is a kind of ‘Emergency’. I want to tell Revanth to stop grabbing farmers’ lands…” KTR declared.

#WATCH | Hyderabad | On his name being mentioned in the remand report in the Vikarabad Collector attack incident, “BRS Working President and MLA KT Rama Rao says, ” Firstly, it is a false and fabricated case. Revanth Reddy govt has been an abysmal failure on all fronts…I want… pic.twitter.com/jhATK64u6M

— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2024

KTR slammed Revanth Reddy on Wednesday too, accusing the Chief Minister of grabbing land from poor farmers to benefit a pharmaceutical company owned by his son-in-law.

Responding to the rumours of his arrest, Rama Rao ripped into the Chief Minister and the conspiracy allegations against his colleague, posting on X, “For a man caught with a Rs 50 lakh bribe (Mr Reddy is implicated in a 2015 cash-for-votes scam) everything will seem like a conspiracy! Farmers protesting against your son-in-law’s pharma company will be a conspiracy! Farmers not bowing down to your brother’s threats is a conspiracy! To stand with poor tribal farmers is a conspiracy!”

Revanth Reddy!

For a man caught with Rs 50 lakh bribe, everything will seem like a conspiracy!

Farmers protesting against your son-in-law’s pharma company will be a conspiracy!

Farmers not bowing down to your brother’s threats is a conspiracy!

Two people talking on the…

— KTR (@KTRBRS) November 14, 2024

BRS workers massed at KTR’s Hyderabad home last night as talk of his impending arrest spread.

The Telangana government, meanwhile, has dismissed KTR’s allegations. IT Minister, Sridhar Babu, told NDTV the Reddy administration has taken a serious view of the attack, which he said had been planned by “political elements”. “There is a conspiracy to stop development in Telangana,” he declared.

Over 50 people were detained after villagers attacked a team of officials Monday to protest against the acquisition of 1,358 acres for a pharma project. The villagers have said compensation offered is below the market price. The incident took place within the Chief Minister’s Kodangal constituency.

READ | Violence Over Land In Telangana CM’s Constituency, 55 Detained

Four senior officials, including a cop, were injured after the 100-strong mob attacked.

Senior police officer V Satyanarayana told NDTV the attack had been planned, including luring District Collector Prateek Jain and a group of Revenue Department officials, to ground zero.

Mr Jain and the officials were to hold a public meeting, so farmers could voice their concerns, at one location, but were persuaded to travel to a second by a man called Suresh (an associate of the arrested BRS lawmaker). As soon as the officials reached the second spot they were attacked.

With input from agencies

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Hyderabad:

At least 55 people in Telangana’s Vikarabad district were detained on Tuesday for allegedly attacking government officials during a protest against acquisition of land for a pharmaceutical project. The protest took place in Lagacharla village of Dudyala mandal, which falls under Kodangal assembly seat represented by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.

Four officials – Kodangal Area Development Authority (KADA) chairman Venkat Reddy, Deputy Superintendent of Police Srinivas Reddy, Additional Collector Lingya Naik and Mandal Revenue Officer Vijay Kumar – sustained injuries after villagers attacked the officials with sticks and threw stones at them.

Inspector General of Police (Multi Zone II) V. Satyanarayana told news agency IANS that the attack on officials was “pre-planned” allegedly by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) youth wing leader B Suresh Raj, who is on the run.

Satyanarayana also said that police believe 100-110 people participated in the attack. “We will take stringent action against those who took part in the attack and those who instigated them,” he said.

The incident took place when a team of officials, led by Collector Prateek Jain, visited the village to seek the locals’ opinion on the proposed land acquisition for the pharma project.

Officials aware of the details said the government is trying to acquire 1,358 acres of land for the pharma project. Farmers, however, claimed the compensation offered is lower than market rates, and have expressed their apprehensions about losing their land and home.

Police said the Collector’s office had set up a camp on Monday on the outskirts of Lagacharla to seek public opinion when Raj approached the officials and urged them to visit the village instead for the discussion. As the collector and his team reached the spot, the villagers attacked them and raised slogans such as “collector go back”.

“Raj had people ready to attack the officers who showed up,” Satyanarayana said.

Meanwhile, the staffers at the Collector’s office staged a dharna against the attack, even as the official said he was not attacked by the villagers. Other government employees in the district boycotted their duties on Tuesday and employees in the rest of the state wore black badges, to protest against the attack.

In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Telangana minister Sridhar Babu said the state government has taken a serious view of the attack, which was planned by “political elements”. “There is a conspiracy to stop development in Telangana,” he said.

He also dismissed BRS working president K T Rama Rao’s allegation that the pharma project would benefit a relative of Chief Minister Reddy.