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Siddipet: Police have arrested seven people in connection with the case involving the alleged "purification" of former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao's (KCR) farmhouse in Erravalli, Siddipet district, using turmeric and water, which stirred up a row in the State. Among those arrested is a former sarpanch from Varadarajpur, along with six BRS leaders.

On September 9th, the Congress party’s SC and ST wings staged a ‘Dappula Mota’ (drum-beating) protest in Erravelli, demanding an apology from the KCR after BRS MLC Thatha Madhu allegedly used derogatory language against the Telangana State Legislative Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar during the Monsoon session. The BRS leaders conducted a purification of the roads used by Congress Dalit activists to reach the farmhouse, which snowballed into a controversy, and a case was originally registered based on a complaint filed by Congress leaders.

According to reports, police tracked down and apprehended the accused at a lodge in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. While six of their phones remained switched off, one phone was turned on, allowing police to track the location and nab the group.
The accused were reportedly taken into custody on Monday morning at around 10 AM and subsequently shifted to Gajwel. They were later produced before a magistrate, who ordered a 14-day judicial remand. Following this, they were moved to Siddipet jail.
The issue was also raised in the Telangana Assembly Monsoon sessions last week. Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka described the incident as an atrocious act, and Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said that purifying an area merely because Dalits had staged a protest by beating drums amounted to an insult to society as a whole.
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