Kodangal attack: Former MLA Patnam Narender Reddy arrested, remanded in prison

After several hours of questioning at the Parigi police station, Narender Reddy was produced before court, where he was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days and then shifted to prison.

Hyderabad: Dramatic developments were witnessed in the State capital on Wednesday, beginning from Hyderabad before shifting to Parigi, when policemen in mufti dragged former Kodangal MLA, Patnam Narender Reddy of the BRS, from his Film Nagar residence around 6 am and bundled him into a waiting vehicle even as he resisted asking them who they were. It was only much later that it came to light that he was arrested by the Vikarabad police in connection with the attack on government officials at Lagacherla village of Dudyal mandal in Kodangal constituency two days ago.

After several hours of questioning at the Parigi police station, Narender Reddy was produced before court, where he was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days and then shifted to prison.

---

The arrest was in connection with Monday’s attack on Vikarabad Collector Prateek Jain, Kodangal Area Development Authority special officer Venkat Reddy and other officials, who had visited Lagacherla in Kodangal, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s constituency, to seek opinion on land acquisition from the public for a pharma village project. The villagers had turned angry alleging that they were being forced to part with their fertile lands, and attacked the officials.

The police version is that one B Suresh, a follower of Narender Reddy, instigated the villagers to attack the officials, allegedly at the instance of the former MLA. Sources said the police arrested Narender Reddy based on his multiple phone calls with Suresh before and after the incident.

Condemning the arrest, BRS working president KT Rama Rao and other senior leaders demanded for his immediate release. They called the arrest an undemocratic act by the Congress government as part of to blame the BRS for the unrest in Revanth Reddy’s own constituency. Rama Rao said the government was attempting to silence dissent through intimidation and illegal arrests.

“It is shameful that a former MLA has been detained for merely speaking to his supporters. This government is attempting to crush the public revolt in Lagacherla with undemocratic arrests,” he said, adding that such actions would not deter the BRS, which has faced similar repression since the Telangana Statehood movement, but fought back with increased vigour and determination. He also accused the Revanth Reddy government of using the police like a private army to meet its business interests.

The BRS working president along with senior leaders visited Narender Reddy’s residence and consoled his family members. He also spoke to Narender Reddy over phone and assured all possible assistance on behalf of the BRS. Besides taking the legal course, the BRS also decided to approach the National Human Right Commmission (NHRC) over the arrest of Narender Reddy and farmers of Lagacherla.

Rama Rao pointed out that while Narender Reddy was detained from his residence, the police prevented BJP Mahabubnagar MP DK Aruna from visiting farmers at Lagacherla. “But the Chief Minister’s brother Tirupathi Reddy is being allowed to visit the village and threaten the locals to give up their lands,” he added.

Former Ministers and senior leaders T Harish Rao, S Niranjan Reddy, V Srinivas Goud and others also condemned Narender Reddy’s arrest. They found fault with the State government over the night-time arrests and levelling of false charges against those who dare to question their policies.

Meanwhile, the BRS leaders staged protests and held road blockades in Kodangal constituency, raising slogans against the Congress government for indulging in political vendetta. They also demanded the release of Narender Reddy. However, the police arrested them and shifted them to nearby police stations.