Telangana Police place top BRS leaders under house arrest

HYDERABAD: Telangana police placed several senior leaders of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) under house arrest on Friday, ahead of a key party meeting in the Serilingampally constituency. The meeting was scheduled near the residence of MLA Arekapudi Gandhi, who recently defected to Congress.

A large police presence was observed at the homes of senior BRS leaders, including former ministers T Harish Rao, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, and Padi Kaushik Reddy. Medchal district president and MLC Shambipur Raju was also placed under house arrest. The deployment began early in the morning, around 4 am, as part of preventive measures taken by the police.

The police also stationed heavy security outside the residence of MLA Gandhi, given the tension that arose from a previous incident. On Thursday, Gandhi and his supporters allegedly attempted to storm the house of MLA Kaushik Reddy in Kondapur, leading to a protest by BRS leaders at the Cyberabad Commissionerate. The protest resulted in the arrest of Harish Rao and other BRS leaders.

The BRS had planned a meeting at its party office near Gandhi's residence, which was expected to be attended by Medchal district MLAs, MLCs, corporators, and other party leaders.

Reacting to the house arrests, former minister T Harish Rao expressed his anger, calling the move undemocratic. "We strongly condemn the arrest of BRS leaders and workers across the state. We demand their immediate release," he said. He further criticised the government for not taking action against Gandhi and his followers, who allegedly attacked Kaushik Reddy. Rao added, "If the government has any integrity, it should arrest Gandhi, his supporters, and the Congress goons involved in the attack."