KTR seeks apology from Telangana CM after NHRC found violations in Lagacharla

Hyderabad, April 21 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao has demanded an apology from Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to farmers of Lagacharla after the National Human Rights Commission found violations of human rights while handling those protesting against land acquisition for the proposed Pharma City.

Rama Rao thanked the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for its report highlighting the gross violation of human rights in Lagacharla. “The report exposed what we have been saying all along - the Congress government and its police acted high handedly towards the tribal farmers and women of Lagacharla,” the BRS leader posted on X.

He hoped that the report would act as a warning to everyone who thinks that those in power are absolutely above the law.

“Governments come and go, but abuse of power will not be tolerated… This is a great first step for all these tribal brothers and sisters who fought valiantly against the Revanth Government. I congratulate all of them and reiterate BRS’ dedication to the cause of Telangana. I demand an unconditional apology to the farmers of Lagacharla from Revanth Reddy, who is not just the Chief Minister but also the Home Minister of Telangana,” added KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known.

An investigation team of the NHRC found that the police arrested and physically tortured some residents of Lagcharla at the Parigi police station for attacking the Vikarabad district collector and revenue officials during a public hearing on the acquisition of land for a proposed Pharma City in November 2024.

The Commission found the allegations of violations of human rights of the villagers to be true. According to the report, the police acted with political vendetta targeting opposition BRS and BJP workers.

The NHRC sent a joint team of its law and investigation officers to Lagacharla for an inquiry following complaints from the villagers about harassment, physical abuse and filing of false criminal charges against them by police in the wake of the attack on the collector.

The inquiry team of the rights panel noted that many people who were neither at the spot nor went to any protest and whose land was also not affected due to the project, were also arrested by the police.

The NHRC has directed the Chief Secretary of Telangana and the Director General of Police not to take any action against innocent villagers who have not attacked government officials. It wanted police or civic officers dealing with the issue to act in a sensible manner, ensuring that human rights are not violated. The Chief Secretary and DGP have been directed to submit reports on the action taken.

--IANS

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