Hyderabad: Seven people associated with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) have been arrested under the ST/ST Act in connection with the alleged “purification ritual” at Varadarajpur Junction, Markook Police said on Tuesday, September 15.
Dalit Congress leaders had called for a siege of KCR’s farmhouse in Erravalli on September 7. The following day, BRS workers allegedly sprinkled turmeric water on the roads to purify them.
The seven accused have been identified as Appala Praveen, Reddaboina Amarender, Sreepathi Raju, Muchapati Himavanth, Anthani Ailaiah, Arikele Raju and Anthani Mallesh.
They were arrested in Varadarajpur village based on a complaint by the Congress party’s Dalit Wing.
A case was registered under sections 196(1)(a)(b) (promoting enmity), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with section 3(1)(r) (u) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act Amendment Act, 2015, and section 7(1)(b)(c)(d) of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955.
After examining witness statements, photos, video footage, and other available evidence, police nabbed the accused from Vijayawada on September 14.
They were remanded by a Gajwel court and were shifted to the Siddipet District Jail. Further identification of the other accused is underway.
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