Hyderabad: An attempt-to-murder charge is among the serious offences invoked in a first information report (FIR) filed after a police inspector was critically injured during clashes over the naming of Almaspet Circle in Andhra Pradesh’s Kadapa.
The FIR, registered at Kadapa II Town Police Station on May 10, names 27 accused persons and invokes multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including criminal conspiracy, rioting with deadly weapons, promoting enmity between groups and assault on a public servant.
The complaint was filed by P Narasimha Raju, the Inspector of Police at Kadapa Taluka Police Station, who was injured the clashes.
Siasat.com spoke to Ayeshanagar Corporator Shaik Salman, who said that the renaming of Almaspet Circle has been an issue for more than a decade. “For the last 10-12 years, the Muslim community has sent resolutions to change the junction to Tipu Sultan Circle. But as soon as it reaches the district administration committee, there is no movement,” he said.
For a resolution to come into force, the corporator should approve it. After that, it goes through the district committee, which gives the final nod.
“We have so far sent three resolutions, but there has been no headway,” Salman said.
According to the complaint, the violence on May 9 stemmed from a dispute between members of the Muslim and Hindu communities over the naming of Almaspet Circle.
One Mohammed Ali, described in the FIR as a leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), allegedly issued a social media call urging people to gather at the circle and rename it “Tipu Sultan Circle.” Around the same time, the committee of the Sri Vighneswara Abhaya Anjaneya Sainatha Temple nearby had put up banners calling the spot “Hanuman Circle (Almaspet).”
A large crowd gathered, raising slogans in favour of naming the junction after Tipu Sultan, the erstwhile ruler of the Mysore Kingdom, while Hindus at the temple objected, asserting the renaming lacked government authorisation.
As tensions escalated, police were deployed on crowd-control duty. At around 1:10 pm on May 9, Inspector Raju was positioned on the eastern side of the circle attempting to prevent a section of the crowd from advancing.
The FIR alleges members of the crowd shouted incitements to harm the officer, and one individual hurled a heavy stone at his head with intent to kill. The inspector sustained a severe head injury, bled profusely and collapsed at the spot. Other police personnel dispersed the attackers and rushed him to Holistic Private Hospital, Kadapa, for treatment.
The last section of the FIR comprises a handwritten statement recorded in Telugu by Inspector Raju himself at the hospital between midnight and 12:45 am on May 10.
The statement reiterates the sequence of events and lists all 27 accused individually, with brief identifiers including party affiliations – Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and others – and roles such as “leader,” “worker” and “Moulana.”
The sections applied under BNS include 109(1) (attempt to murder), 121(1) (grievous hurt to deter a public servant), 132 (assault on a public servant), 189(3) and 189(5) (unlawful assembly with deadly weapons), 191(2) and 191(3) (rioting), 192 (provocation with intent to cause riot), 196(1)(a) and 197(1)(c) (promoting enmity between groups and acts prejudicial to national integration) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy).
Some of these charges will make getting bail harder to get.
Among the 27 persons named are Syad Ahammad Basha, Shaik Mahammad Jakeer Hussain, Shaik Mahammad Thahir, Shaik Jafar Basha, Patan Jabeer Ali Khan, Moulana Shaik Idris Noumani, Moulana Shaik Shabbir Hussain, Naveed Jemini, Baba Fakruddin and Mohammed Ali.
The dispute over the junction’s name had surfaced intermittently over the past 12 years, the police said. The immediate trigger on May 8 was an attempt by right-wing supporters to install a 30-foot Hanuman statue at the circle, which angered sections of the Muslim community. Stone pelting broke out between two groups before police intervened using mild force, including a lathi charge.
Section 144 of the CrPC was subsequently imposed in and around Almaspet Circle and additional forces were deployed.
Kadapa District Collector Sridhar Cherukuri and Superintendent of Police Shelke Nachiket Vishwanath, at a joint press conference on May 9, described the clashes as “unfortunate” and accused anti-social elements of attempting to disturb communal harmony. They also warned against the circulation of false information on social media.
On Monday, May 11, SP Vishwanath spoke to Siasat.com and said that investigations into the matter are ongoing. When asked why only Muslim names were mentioned when it was clearly a provocation by the temple authorities by placing banners, the officer said that another FIR has been filed, which names Hindu miscreants too.
“A few people, allegedly involved in the agitation and stone pelting, have been detained, and a few are on the run. Section 144 has been imposed, and security has been strengthened to ensure there is no disturbance to law and order
However, he refused to provide details of the “said FIR.”
This post was last modified on May 11, 2026 4:48 pm