Within 24 hours of reporting of the attack on C.S. Rangarajan, the priest of Chilkur Balaji temple, six persons have been nabbed so far by the Moinabad police.
The main accused, K. Veer Raghava Reddy, the self-proclaimed leader of ‘Ram Rajyam’ militia was arrested from his home in Manikonda on Saturday evening.
On Friday, February 7, a group of 25 men and women wearing black clothes attacked the priest at his home in Chevella. A police complaint was filed on Saturday by the family members.
On Monday, five more persons allegedly involved in the attack on the priest were arrested by the police as the issue blew up with all the political parties and civil society leaders across the country condemning the attack.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy called up the priest to commisserate and promised stringent action against the attackers.
Meanwhile, Bharath Rasthra Samithi leader K. T. Rama Rao took to X platform to condemn the attack.
“There are videos of the attack and in two days did the Telangana govt do anything? Shame!” wrote Mr. Rao.
A police official investigating the case informed that the delayed registration of complaint was due to the fact that the priest was too traumatised to report the attack.
“Praying for his strength and assured him of any support needed,” wrote Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay on X.
We have formed three teams to trace the other absconding accused in the attack who have been identified from the video footage.
Meanwhile, a group of 56 citizens from 18 States across India created a petition on change.org to condemn the attack on C.S. Rangarajan. The petitioners expressed alarm over the incident, describing it as an ‘extremely dangerous development’ where a respected religious figure is subjected to violence for not adhering to a particular agenda.
Published – February 10, 2025 08:40 pm IST