Congress Asks Home Minister To Resign For Rising Crime Rate

The Congress today expressed deep concern over the escalating incidents of crime in Telangana, particularly in Hyderabad, and demanded that Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali resign owning responsibility for the lawlessness.

Addressing media persons at Gandhi Bhavan, TPCC official spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin alleged that the BRS government had failed to prioritize crime prevention and apprehension. Instead, it focused more on superficial enhancements such as corporate-style police stations and new vehicles. Unfortunately, these measures of "friendly policing" did not benefit the general public but rather emboldened criminals to commit brazen crimes without the fear of being apprehended, he claimed.

Syed Nizamuddin said that June 22 would be remembered as a particularly violent day in Hyderabad's history, with seven brutal murders occurring in four separate incidents, and with two more attempted murders to boot, within 15 hours. These incidents included double murders in Mailardevpally and Tappa Chabutra, individual murders in the Chaderghat, Bowenpally and Narsingi PS limits, and two separate cases of attempted murder in the SR Nagar police limits.

Nizamuddin also pointed out that on the same day that these crimes were taking place, the Home Minister had praised the Telangana police hailing them as the best in India, and applauded their approach of "friendly policing".

Nizamuddin also highlighted that several crime incidents had been reported across Telangana in the past week. One such incident involved the murder of a 19-year-old nursing student in Vikarabad. Tragically, this was not the first instance where an innocent girl had fallen victim to the brutality of criminals who displayed no fear of the law, he lamented.

The Congress leader also accused several BRS leaders of being involved in serious crimes, including instances of rape. BRS MLA Patnam Narender Reddy faced charges of extortion, wrongful confinement and assault on a farmer over a land dispute. The farmer reported being threatened, confined and assaulted by the MLA and his associates. In addition, a brother of BRS councillor K Radha Krishna had allegedly raped a 13-year-old girl in the Shankar Nagar area of Bodhan mandal of Nizamabad. Another incident involved a Hyderabad-based businessman filing a complaint against five men, including a well-known local criminal associated with BRS leaders, alleging that they had kidnapped him and extorted Rs 10 lakh from him.

"Are these cases not clear examples of a failing law & order situation? The Home Minister did not even issue a statement regarding these incidents, nor did he meet the families of the victims," Nizamuddin said.

The TPCC spokesperson said that Mahmood Ali seemed to believe that praising CM K Chandrashekar Rao was his sole duty. "Despite serving as Deputy CM for four years and nearly completing a five-year term as Home Minister, Mahmood Ali has never demonstrated a sense of accountability," he remarked.

Syed Nizamuddin called for the establishment of fast-track courts to expedite the trials of all murder cases and other heinous crimes, including rapes, reported in the recent past.

TPCC spokesperson Shekshavali Achari was also present.