Telangana: Two Arrested with Ganja Worth Rs.65,000

Warangal: Chityala police, along with the District Crime Control System (CCS) team, arrested two persons for allegedly possessing ganja in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district.

Acting on the directions of district superintendent of police Kiransetti Sankeerth, the joint team conducted vehicle checks at Shivaji Chowk in Chityala and seized 1.3 kg of ganja.

The arrested persons were identified as Pothula Narsinga Rao (57) and Pallerla Madhukar (43), both residents of Challagariga village. Police also seized a motorcycle and a mobile phone along with the contraband, valued at around ₹65,000.

The duo was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and remanded to judicial custody.

Sankeerth said the district police are committed to curbing the drug menace and urged the public to report information on narcotics through the toll-free number 8712658111 or by dialling 100.

Chityala CI Mallesh Yadav and SI P. Satish said strict vigil would continue and advised youth to stay away from drugs.

SSC Exams from March 14;Strict Arrangements in Place

With the SSC public examinations set to begin on Saturday, March 14, the school education department said it had put in place security, transport and monitoring arrangements, along with strict rules for candidates.

Authorities have arranged police bandobust at all centres and imposed prohibitory orders in the areas surrounding the centres during examination hours. Photocopy shops near the exam locations will remain closed to prevent malpractice.

The department has constituted 144 flying squads to monitor the examinations and sitting squads will supervise centres that require additional vigilance. Only authorised personnel will be allowed inside the premises and anyone entering must produce valid identification.

Candidates will be allowed into the examination hall only until 9.35 am, including a five minute grace period. Students have been advised to reach the centres by 8.30 am after accounting for traffic and weather conditions. Hall tickets can be downloaded from the Board of Secondary Education website and candidates have been asked to visit their allotted centres a day in advance to avoid confusion on exam day.

Students are permitted to carry their hall ticket, exam pad and basic stationery including pen, pencil, scale, sharpener, eraser and geometry instruments. Electronic devices such as mobile phones, calculators and smart watches are prohibited inside the centres.

Medical support has been arranged at each centre with an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife equipped with ORS and essential medicines. The department has also asked TGRTC officials to increase bus trips to help students reach examination centres without delay. Drinking water, lighting and fans have been arranged at the centres and a round the clock control room has been set up at the Office of the Director of Government Examinations to address grievances.

The exams will run from March 14 to April 16 across 2,676 centres with a total of 5,28,293 candidates registered for them.

Ex-MPP killed in Nizamabad

Dharpally former MPP president and Mudiraj Union state leader Immadi Gopi (55) was murdered late on Wednesday night near Gouraram village in Nizamabad district.

According to police, the incident occurred while Gopi was travelling to his native village in a car. Another vehicle reportedly rammed his car near the outskirts of Gouraram village. Following the collision, the attacker assaulted and killed him.

Police reached the spot after receiving information about the incident and inspected the area.

Police said the accused has been identified as Gopi’s close relative, his nephew Satish, who later surrendered at the Indalwai police station.

According to investigators, tensions between the two groups had escalated during the recent gram panchayat elections, in which Gopi’s wife Hemalatha was elected sarpanch of Gouraram village.

Police said political rivalry between the families is suspected to have led to the murder. A case has been registered and an investigation is under way.

Immadi Gopi had been active in politics for several years and was associated with both the Congress and BRS parties. Earlier, he was also involved in CPI-Maoist activities and played a role in Mudiraj community organisations.

Seven arrested for stealing farm motors in Warangal

Warangal Commissionerate police, in a joint operation by the Central Crime Station (CCS) and Kamalapur police, arrested seven members of an inter-district gang involved in the theft of agricultural pump sets.

Police recovered 71 electric motors worth about ₹6.60 lakh. An auto-trolley, a car and three mobile phones used in the offences were also seized.

The arrested persons were identified as Sirigiri Prasad (26), Mothe Raju (25), Teku Naveen (24), Motam Tirupati (25), Varanasi Laxman (26), Motam Naresh (25) and Vastam Bhimesh (28), residents of Peddapalli, Mancherial and Godavarikhani.

According to police, the gang targeted electric motors installed at agricultural wells and canals. Investigations revealed that the accused had earlier been involved in similar offences, including theft of copper wires from electrical transformers in the Karimnagar and Ramagundam police commissionerates.

Of the 71 motors recovered, 34 were stolen from Kamalapur and Damera in Warangal district, 36 from Keshavapatnam, Saidapur and Ellanthakunta in Karimnagar district, and one from Regonda in Bhupalpally district.

Acting on the directions of police commissioner Sunpreet Singh, special teams led by DCP Dara Kavitha and ACPs P. Sadaiah and Prashanth Reddy used technical and scientific evidence to track the suspects.

The accused were intercepted during a vehicle check at Vangapalli Crossroad while travelling in the seized auto-trolley and car. Based on their confession, police raided a house in Parkal where the stolen motors were stored.

Central Zone DCP Dara Kavitha commended the CCS and Kamalapur police teams, including inspectors A. Raghavendar, K. Ramakrishna and Naveen, for solving the case.

Police arrest Pocso case accused evading court

Bhupalpally police arrested a 23-year-old man who had been evading court proceedings in a case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district.

The accused, identified as Keerthi Akshith, a resident of Rajiv Nagar, was arrested after a local court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him for repeatedly failing to appear for hearings.

Police said Akshith had earlier been booked under the Pocso Act. After his arrest, he was produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.

Officials said the arrest was part of efforts to ensure that accused persons comply with court directions and attend hearings.

Bhupalpally town circle inspector D. Naresh Kumar warned that strict action would be taken against those who fail to attend court hearings despite summons or warrants.

Two killed as lorry hits motorcycles in Khammam

Two persons died in a road accident after a lorry hit two motorcycles near Narayanapuram in Sathupalli mandal of Khammam district on Thursday.

The victims were identified as Panam Saloman (57) from Mandalapadu in Penuballi mandal and Sali Nageswara Rao (60) from Rejerla village in Sathupalli mandal.

According to police, the accident occurred when a speeding lorry hit the motorcycles coming from the opposite direction near a road curve at Narayanapuram. Both riders died on the spot.

Sathupalli police registered a case and are investigating the incident.

Coordination key for welfare schemes: Komatireddy

Roads and buildings minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Thursday said effective implementation of welfare schemes and development programmes requires close coordination between elected representatives and officials.

He was speaking while inaugurating an awareness programme on “Praja Palana–Pragathi Pranalika” held at the Zilla Parishad meeting hall in Nalgonda for municipal chairpersons and councillors from seven municipalities in the district.

The minister said municipal chairpersons and councillors should focus on sanitation and work to improve living conditions in towns. He also stressed the need to take preventive measures to avoid drinking water shortages during the summer.

Komatireddy underlined the importance of strengthening urban health centres in towns. He said municipal council meetings should discuss local issues and fund requirements so that they can be included in municipal budgets.

He also urged municipalities to improve tax collection to strengthen their financial position.

District collector B. Chandrasekhar and officials from various departments attended the programme.

NRR Writes to CM on Farmers’ Plight, Education, Unemployment, and Welfare Issues

BJP state president N. Ramchander Rao in an open letter to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, highlighted what he called “dire ground realities” and urged their resolution. He urged Revanth Reddy to “step out of his air-conditioned office and witness the people's suffering firsthand.” He also hit out at Opposition leader K. Chandrashekar Rao for maintaining silence on these issues.

Rao said there were mounting crises in farming, education, unemployment, retirees' welfare, Aasara pensions, and health sectors. He alleged that the promised `15,000 Rythu Bharosa aid has been slashed to `12,000 per year, and even that had been delayed, thereby forcing cultivators into debt trap. He said the input support for Yasangi crops remained pending since November-December, while irrigation project failures and unlinked canals were causing crop failures and farmer suicides.

He also flagged demolitions of thousands of poor and middle-class homes in Hyderabad, Rangareddy, and Khammam’s Velugumatla and said that the flawed Musi rejuvenation plans and Gandhi Sarovar projects were leaving families homeless without alternatives.

In education and employment, Rao accused the government of not clearing thousands of crores in fee reimbursements, hitting students from the poor and underprivileged sections. The government had neither released a job calendar nor filled 2 lakh jobs, Rao said. Teachers feared salary cuts following submission of the controversial Telangana Education Commission report.

Retired employees were chasing around the offices for their `12,000 crore in pending benefits and around 70 retired employees have died due to shock for not getting their benefits for their medical needs in many districts, Rao alleged. The hospitals are not allowing the health cards of the employees and retired employees to avail medical services, forcing cash payments, he said.

Rao noted that Aasara pensioners mainly elderly, single women, disabled have been awaiting promised hikes of their pensions. The failing municipal infrastructure had turned towns into zones infested by stray dogs, monkeys and pigs, and disease outbreaks were being reported due to poor drainage systems.

Priest booked for ₹18 lakh fraud in Tirupati bookings

Police have booked a temple priest for allegedly cheating a retired employee of ₹18.46 lakh on the pretext of arranging Tirupati darshan tickets and travel bookings in Boinapally mandal of Rajanna Sircilla district.

The incident came to light after the victim, a resident of Boinapally mandal, approached the police upon discovering that his bank account had been emptied.

According to Boinapally sub-inspector N. Ramakanth, the accused has been identified as Sai Tharun, a priest at the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Odyaram village of Gangadhara mandal.

Police said the victim, a regular devotee at the temple, had developed a friendship with Tharun. Taking advantage of this trust, the priest offered to help him book Tirupati pilgrimage tickets online.

He allegedly gained access to the victim’s smartphone and passwords and disabled transaction alerts to conceal the withdrawals.

Investigations revealed that Tharun transferred the money in about 30 instalments, sometimes sending amounts of up to ₹99,999 in a single day before 9 am, to the bank account of his friend Damara Harish.

The fraud came to light when the victim visited a bank to withdraw cash and was informed that his account balance was insufficient.

Police have taken Harish into custody, while a search is under way to trace the absconding priest. A case has been registered and further investigation is in progress to recover the amount.

UMEED: TG seeks for further 3-months extension

With the last day for registering properties on the UMEED portal passing on Thursday, the Telangana Waqf Board has approached the Waqf Tribunal for a further three month extension. Citing examples of a few other states, including Maharashtra and UP, where the date was extended, and a clear provision under the UMEED Act, 2025, the board remains optimistic about securing the extension.

The Uttar Pradesh Waqf Tribunal granted a six-month extension, pushing the deadline for registration to June 5, as was done in Maharashtra by the tribunal granted a six-month extension. Earlier this month, the Union minority affairs ministry stated that under the UMEED Act, six months was provided from the launch of the UMEED Central portal on June 6, 2025 to upload details of Waqf properties and properties dedicated to Waqf. This period concluded on December 6, 2025.

“The Act itself provides a remedy — Waqf Tribunals, upon being satisfied, may grant up to six months extension. Accordingly, 17 States/UTs have been granted extensions of two to six months Feburary 2026 onwards, strictly as per law,” the ministry informed on March 2.

According to sources in the TG Waqf Board, the registration on the portal had crossed the 51,000 mark by Thursday, with some 5,000 to 6,000 pending. F the date extension was provided, most of the pending list would be cleared. “There were some 57,000 properties identified in the beginning of the process. Those which are pending are at different levels including at the ‘checker’ and ‘maker’ states. Once cleared from the checker level, they are approved. In case it gets rejected at the checker level, the maker fulfills any shortcomings and it is uploaded once again. Once approved there is no chance of rejection by the authorities,” explained a higher authority to Deccan Chronicle.

Confident about getting further extension, sources informed that the pending properties, mostly in the Waqf by user category, will be uploaded on portal. “Apart from ensuring all those pending are uploaded, will be pursuing with the caretakers of Waqf properties if any are pending, particularly if big properties,” added the sources.