Hyderabad, March 12: The city police have named the Telangana Rashtra Samiti president, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, and the Telangana Joint Action Committee convener, Professor Kodandaram, in cases of criminal conspiracy and attempt to murder, theft after hurt, rioting, and several other stringent sections of the Prevention of Damage Public Properties Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act.
This is the first time that the top leaders steering the Telangana agitation have been taken to task legally under serious sections of the law. The cases pertain to the march on Thursday that caused mayhem in the city. The police have filed FIRs in 18 cases.
Prof. Kodandaram and Mr Chandrasekhar Rao are named in two of them: Violence and toppling of statues on Tank Bund, and the attempt on the life of police officials. The TRS MLAs, Mr Harish Rao, and Mr K.T. Rama Rao, were also named in the main case. The TRS MLAs, Mr Harish Rao, and Mr K.T. Rama Rao, have been named in the main case (61/2011 of Gandhinagar police station) along with 55 other accused.
The commissioner of police, Mr A.K. Khan, said: “We have booked 18 cases and arrested several accused and remanded them to judicial custody. The cases will now be investigated by special teams of the Central Crime Station. The leaders who gave the call for the Million March and who made provocative statements and participated in it are named as accused.”
The Central Zone DCP, Mr Akun Shabarwal, said: “The main case is regarding the complaint lodged by the Gandhinagar SI, Mr Rambabu. He had mentioned all the details right from the bandobust arrangements on Tank Bund, precautions taken and description of the events, mainly the damage to the statues and the attack on me. It is a case of criminal conspiracy where Kodandaram, KCR, K.T. Rama Rao and Harish Rao, who provoked from the beginning, are named.”
In the case of the attack on the Gandhinagar police inspector, Mr S. Sudhakar, a case has been registered for criminal conspiracy, damage to public property, attempt to murder, and other sections as per the complaint lodged by the constable, Mr Madhu Babu, in which he alleged that while he and the inspector went to Tank Bund and tried to stop the toppling of the Brahmanaidu statue, the mob attacked them with stones and metal pieces.
Five policemen were injured, a police jeep was damaged and official cameras were snatched away. In the case of the attack on Chikkadapally, the ACP, Mr K. Chakrapani, alleged that he tried to control the situation after inspector Mr Sudhakar was attacked and the jeep was burnt. A group of advocates were named for causing injury to the ACP.
The police also arrested 54 persons who were fleeing after the demolition of the statues. Most of them are identified as students of OU, Kakatiya and Palamuru universities, activists from Sircilla and Nizamabad, and other agencies. Eleven cases were booked for the attack on media persons and damaging their equipment.
–Agencies