Hyderabad: The Telangana police arrested BJP Medak district president Gaddam Srinivas, BJP Medak town president M Nayam Prasad, BJYM president and seven others in connection with the violence in Medak town.
They will be produced before the court, the police said.
According to reports, the management of Minhaj ul Uloom Madarsa in Medak had purchased cattle for sacrifice for Bakrid. Tension began when local members of right-wing Hindutva organizations created a ruckus near the madrasa after the sacrificial animals were brought in.
An hour after the incident, members of the right-wing Hindutva groups again reached the madrasa and launched an attack. Several people who were inside the madrasa received injuries and were shifted to a local hospital for treatment. Soon, police reached the spot and dispersed the crowd.
Later, the mob attacked the hospital as well and threw stones at the hospital building. The police intervened and resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the mob.
Tension gripped the area as the news of the incident spread. In the evening, the markets were shut down by some unscrupulous elements. The police, in response, increased the patrolling in the Medak town to prevent further trouble.
Some of the people injured in the attack alleged it was a planned attack on Muslims. “It was a planned attack not only on the madaras but also on local Muslims,” said one of the injured.
Section 144 imposed
Medak police said that the situation is under control and peaceful. Section 144 has also been imposed in the area to maintain law and order.
Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which prohibits gathering of four or more people in an area, is usually implemented to avoid any protests that could lead to violence and riots.
“The police imposed Section 144 in the area and the situation is under control now,” Medak Superintendent of Police Office B Bala Swamy said.
A few persons have already been taken into custody and an investigation is ongoing as cases are being registered against both parties and the situation is under control for now, the senior police officer said.
According to him, the scuffle broke out when the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leaders stopped the transportation of the cows, and instead of giving a complaint, they staged a protest.
Meanwhile, police have taken BJP leader A Raja Singh into preventive custody at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Shamshabad on Sunday. He was planning to visit Medak where the communal tensions occurred.
(With inputs from PTI)
