Telangana BJP chief taken into custody by police in Hyderabad

Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao was taken into custody by police in Hyderabad on Sunday when he attempted to leave for Banswada town in Kamareddy district, where a communal clash broke out on Friday evening.

Rao, who had been placed under house arrest at his residence in the Tarnaka area since Saturday night, tried to proceed to Banswada to meet party workers and express solidarity with local BJP leaders. Police stopped him from leaving and shifted him to the Bollarum Police Station.

Tension prevailed outside his residence as BJP supporters gathered and attempted to resist the police action. Several protesters were detained during the scuffle.

Before being taken into custody, Rao told reporters that he planned to visit Kamareddy to support BJP MLA K. Venkata Ramana Reddy, who was allegedly attacked amid the unrest. He also claimed that around 100 BJP workers were arrested during a bandh called by Hindu organisations in Banswada following the incident.

In a post on X after his detention, Rao alleged that “an emergency-like situation” prevailed in Telangana. He accused the Congress government of targeting him for “standing up for the Hindus of Banswada and our karyakartas in Kamareddy” and described the ruling party as “anti-Hindu”.

Earlier, he had written that in Congress-ruled Telangana, raising a voice for Hindu victims and party workers had become a “crime”. He further alleged that confining him to his home would not silence him and vowed to continue supporting party cadres.

The unrest in Banswada erupted on Friday evening after a youth objected to the playing of a devotional song at a supermarket. According to police, the youth was allegedly assaulted by employees of the store. The incident escalated when members of two communities gathered near the premises and engaged in stone pelting, leaving two police personnel injured.

Following the clash, additional police forces were deployed in Banswada to prevent further violence and maintain law and order. Police registered two cases in connection with the rioting and arrested 12 people so far.

With IANS inputs