Raja Singh Says Police Beat Him Up, Cops Deny It

The Hyderabad police on Thursday denied allegations that they beat up BJP MLA Raja Singh, and said that that the MLA was making baseless allegations against them after inflicting injuries upon himself.

The West Zone DCP in a statement said that the incident took place on Wednesday night when the police were trying to prevent Raja Singh and his followers from replacing the statue of Rani Avanti Lodh, a freedom fighter, in Jumeraat Bazar, under the Shah Inayat Gunj police station limits, with a bigger one using a crane.

After the police discovered that the people trying to replace the statue had no permission for what they were doing, they seized the crane and took it to the Goshamahal grounds. Raja Singh, the Goshamahal MLA, then himself came Jumeraat Bazaar after midnight and picked up an argument with the police in the presence of about 300 of his supporters who were shouting slogans. The police also claim that the MLA abused them.

Video footage apparently shows Singh roaming around with a stone in his hand, and the police claim that Singh most likely injured himself with the stone.

The MLA and his supporters eventually replaced the statue despite the police asking them not to. Cases have been booked against Singh under various sections for the incident.