A day after the attack on district officials including the collector in Vikarabad district of Telangana, police have taken into custody around 55 people while a BRS youth wing leader was on the run for allegedly instigating the “pre-planned attack”. The Congress today accused the BRS of instigating the attack in Kodangal, the home constituency of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy in order to defame him. Meanwhile, authorities have suspended the internet in Dudyala Mandal to prevent any further trouble.

The police said a public hearing was to be conducted by the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) for a pharma company at the outskirts of Lagcharla village in Dudyala mandal yesterday. A BRS youth wing leader, B Suresh Raj apparently approached the district collector Prateek Jain and urged him to enter the village and listen to the grievances of the farmers. When he reached the village with other officials, he was accosted by the mob which pushed him around and when he left the spot in his vehicle ,they vandalised three cars. Suresh Raj who was reportedly in touch with BRS leader before the attack, is currently on the run.

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The authorities have registered three separate FIRs in connection with the incident. While the members of Telangana Employees Joint Action Committee today met the DGP Jitender and sought action against the culprits, the district collector, inspector general and SP met the industry minister Sridhar Babu over the incident since he is the minister in charge of the district. Questions have also been raised about the failure of intelligence and lack of proper security arrangements for the top district officials. The minister expressed his displeasure over the incident of attack on government employees.

The ruling party alleged that Suresh was a follower of Patnam Narender Reddy, ex BRS MLA and had spoken to him multiple times. Congress MP Kiran Kumar Chamala alleged that it was a motivated pre-planned political attack. “It is truly shocking that an attack took place on the collector in the Kodangal constituency, which is represented by the CM. Those who encouraged the attack on the Collector are reportedly BRS party activists,” he said. “We are trying to create employment especially in Kodangal constituency which is represented by our CM. He has allotted funds for so many industrial projects. They (BRS) don’t want development in Kodangal, they want to defame Revanth Reddyji,” he added while promising a proper inquiry into the incident.