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Row over attack on priest in Telangana
The Statesman Siliguri
|February 11, 2025
Telangana Police arrested a fringe element Veera Raghava Reddy, hailing from adjoining Andhra Pradesh, for attacking the chief priest of Balaji Temple at Chilkur near Hyderabad, leading to a huge political fallout as the BRS attacked both the Congress government for poor law and order situation and the BJP for maintaining silence over the attack.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy stated such incidents would not be tolerated and directed the police to take action against those involved.
The temple deity also known as "Visa Balaji" is quite popular among devotees seeking visa approvals to go abroad.
The incident has also pointed to the rise of fringe elements in the Telugu states, operating under the radar.
Veera Raghava Reddy, who runs a private army under the organization "Rama Rajyam", had allegedly attacked the priest CS Rangarajan on 7 February and even recorded the attack.
Reddy also runs a YouTube channel and records inflammatory speeches about establishing a dharma rajya and dispensing with the current laws of society.
This story is from the February 11, 2025 edition of The Statesman Siliguri.
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