Narender Reddy Approaches HC Against His Arrest

Former BRS MLA Patnam Narender Reddy, arrested in connection with the attack on government officials in Telangana's Lagacharla village, has filed a bail plea in the Telangana High Court, seeking a quashing of the the remand order.

Reddy's petition is expected to come up for hearing on Monday.

Residents of Lagacharla have also filed a petition in the court to dismiss the FIR related to the attack. The villagers claimed that the FIR was illegally filed against their family members, and requested that the case be dismissed.

A total of 20 people, including Narender Reddy, have been arrested so far in the case and remanded in custody. The Kondangal court has placed Reddy under judicial custody until November 27. K T Rama Rao's name has also appeared in the remand report.

In his plea against the remand, Reddy argued that he had no involvement in the case. He claimed that the officials were attacked by those who had lost their lands to TSIIC (Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited). He alleged that his arrest was unlawful and politically motivated, and that the lower court had sent him to police custody without properly examining the case. Reddy said that the police had presented no evidence of his involvement and had failed to justify the arrest as required in their remand diary.

Meanwhile, the police have asserted that the attack on the officials was premeditated, with more evidence emerging with time. According to the government's report, out of the 42 accused, 17 - including BRS leader Suresh and his brother Mahesh - did not own land in the area. IGP Satyanarayana said that these individuals came from outside the village to carry out the attacks.

The police have seized Reddy's cell phone and are seeking permission from the magistrate to access it. Investigators are working to determine the source of the instructions given to Suresh and Narender Reddy. The police allege that call records show that Reddy was in frequent contact with KTR, and that the conversations indicated possible instigation of farmers and encouragement of the attack on the officials. Preliminary findings suggest that KTR urged Narender Reddy to go to any extent, according to the police. The police have requested Reddy's custody to probe the matter further.