Four held for blasting surplus weir of irrigation tank in Mancherial

A tractor, four gelatine sticks, two mobile phones, a drilling machine and a motorbike were seized from them

Mancherial: Four persons including the husband of a BRS councilor were arrested on charges of blasting the surplus weir of an irrigation tank in Chennur, on Friday.

A tractor, four gelatine sticks, two mobile phones, a drilling machine and a motorbike were seized from them.

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Briefing details of the arrests, DCP A Bhaskar said the accused were Pendyala Laxminarayana, husband of councilor of 11th ward councilor Swarnalatha, his friends Bheem Madhukar, a driver, Rasamalla Srinivas, all from Chennur and Gogula Danaiah, a stone cutter from ACC Colony in Mancherial.

During investigation, Laxminarayana confessed to committing the crime to avoid inundation of certain houses caused by backwaters of the irrigation tank, by taking assistance from the three. He revealed that he made an unsuccessful bid to reduce the height of the weir by hiring Danaiah on September 13.

Laxminarayana then blew up the weir using gelatin sticks sourced from contacts of Danaiah in Nalgonda on September 16. Srinivas, Madhukar and Danaiah drilled holes to the weir and inserted the explosives to blast it.