Tension at Gandhi Hospital as police prevent BRS leaders from viewing suicide victim's body  

HYDERABAD: Tensions erupted at Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad when police blocked BRS leaders, including former ministers Harish Rao and Sabitha Indra Reddy, from viewing the body of Buchamma, who died by suicide allegedly due to fear of eviction from the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA).

The police cited higher orders as they stopped the leaders from entering the hospital mortuary, which led to protests from the BRS members.

Buchamma, a resident of Kukatpally, Hyderabad, allegedly took her own life after being distressed by the notices issued by HYDRAA asking her to vacate her house, which was reportedly located within the Full Tank Level (FTL) limits of Nalla Cheruvu. The house had been given as dowry to her daughters. Fearing the eviction and loss of shelter for her daughters, Buchamma reportedly hanged herself with a saree when no one else was at home on Friday evening. Family members rushed her to the hospital, but doctors declared her dead on arrival.

The HYDRAA later clarified that Buchamma had not been served an eviction notice.

Speaking to the media outside Gandhi Hospital, Harish Rao accused the Congress government of being responsible for Buchamma’s death, which he termed a "government-driven murder." He questioned the eviction policies, asking, "Do you want water to flow through Musi, or the tears and blood of the poor?"

He demanded a halt to these "mindless evictions" and called on the state to focus on building, not demolishing, to help improve the lives of Hyderabad’s poor residents.