BRS charges Minister Ponguleti with Rs 1,400-crore land grab in Vattinagulapalli

BRS working president KT Rama Rao alleged that Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and his son were involved in a Rs 1,400 crore land grab in Vattinagulapalli. He demanded action and announced that a BRS delegation would meet the Governor.

Hyderabad: Upping the ante against the Congress government, the BRS exposed a high-value land encroachment in Vattinagulapalli involving Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and his son, Harsha Reddy. BRS working president KT Rama Rao accused the Minister of using State machinery and muscle power to grab land worth around Rs 1,400 crore.

Accompanied by the BRS legislators, Rama Rao visited the site at Vattinagulapalli and extended solidarity to the affected family of Satish Shah and his wife Pallavi Shah.

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Addressing a joint media conference with the affected family, Rama Rao said the Shah family has owned and lived on the land since 1960, with records intact. He alleged that the Minister and his son personally visited the family, pressuring them to part with the land for development. After refusal, the family allegedly faced harassment from corrupt revenue officials who conducted a fraudulent survey, despite the Telangana High Court orders.

Threats were issued to forcibly acquire 27 acres under the guise of a survey. The Shah family approached the High Court which suspended the survey notice and thereafter, the Panchanama report. Later, the assistant director of revenue Srinivasulu who was surveyed the land wrongfully, was arrested by the ACB in Rs 100 crore disproportionate assets case.

With the Shah family not agreeing to part with their land, Rama Rao said men linked to Raghava Constructions arrived with unregistered JCBs, demolished a cowshed and a kilometre-long compound wall, thrashed the workers, and intimidated the family. “They were threatened with dire consequences and forced to stay guard overnight,” he said, adding that the family was given death threats.

The BRS working president stated that a police officer Habibullah Khan, who registered an FIR in the case was subsequently transferred, raising questions over political interference.

Linking the episode to a broader pattern, he accused the government of misusing the Dharani land portal. “Since the Congress came to power, the lands in the prohibited list increased from 22 lakh acres to one crore acres. This was done to harass and coerce landowners into parting with property,” he remarked.

Rama Rao said the party would take up the issue politically and legally, urging victims of similar cases to come forward. He reiterated demands for action against Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy over both land and mining allegations. He announced that a BRS delegation would meet the Governor seeking the Minister’s dismissal.

“Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy are safeguarding each other for their business interests. They are acting against the court orders, and encroaching private lands,” he said. Condemning the Goonda Raj of the Congress leaders in the State, he warned the officials who were supporting them in such illegal activities, of action after the BRS returns to power.

Meanwhile, amid heightened tensions following the Assembly disruptions, police were deployed in large number near Rama Rao’s residence where the BRS MLAs met before visiting the victims at Vattinagulapalli.