National ST Commission member says political drama by Congress in Lagacherla

Nayak said the police arrested the innocent tribal farmers on charges of attacking Vikarabad Collector Prateek Jain while the official himself was saying that the farmers did not attack him.

Sangareddy: National Commission for Scheduled Tribes member Jatothu Hussain Nayak on Monday observed that there was a political drama being enacted by Congress leaders at Lagacherla. Nayak, after visiting Lagacherla village in the morning, later interacted for over two hours with 21 farmers from the village who were kept in the Sangareddy Central Jail.

Speaking to the media later, Nayak said the farmers had told him that they were lifted from their villages at midnight after power supply was cut off and internet was disconnected.

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Nayak said the police arrested the innocent tribal farmers on charges of attacking Vikarabad Collector Prateek Jain while the official himself was saying that the farmers did not attack him. Farmers also told the Commission that a Congress worker Shekhar was threatening them to acquire their land at any cost. Following the arrest of the 21 farmers, other young farmers had fled the village into the forests except for the elderly and children fearing more attacks and arrests. Farmers also told Nayak that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s brother A Tirupati Reddy was threatening them with serious consequences unless they surrendered their land. Nayak said the farmers complained to him that the government wanted to acquire 1,350 acres of land for which they were being harassed ever since the Congress came to power.

He further said the police had jailed innocent people, letting off those who actually were involved in the attack on officials. Innocent students and workers who were staying outside their village were also arrested by the police, he said, adding that the police were putting all efforts into forcing the tribals hand over their land for the pharma village using power. He asked the government to give land for land for tribals if they wanted to acquire the land.

Also stating that some officials over-reacted on the issue, Nayak said he had asked Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari and DGP Dr Jitendar to initiate steps to protect the rights of the tribals and to ensure justice for them.