Lecturer Among 2 Held for Burning NTR Statue in Nalgonda
Police said the two had conspired to damage NTR statues and create tension between different groups
Nalgonda: A 45-year-old lecturer and a 23-year-old private employee allegedly set fire to a statue of Telugu Desam founder and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao in Nalgonda to disturb public peace and trigger clashes between groups, police said on Wednesday.
The arrested were identified as Palakuri Ashok Kumar Goud, 45, a lecturer and resident of Chaitanyapuri in Hyderabad, and Elukanti Praneeth, 23, a private employee from Maheshwaram in Rangareddy district. The case was registered against them after unidentified persons allegedly poured petrol on the NTR statue near NG College in Nalgonda and set it ablaze in the early hours of June 6.
Addressing a press conference, superintendent of police Sharath Chandra Pawar said investigators examined hundreds of CCTV camera recordings and found that Ashok Kumar's car had moved suspiciously near the statue at about 3.25 am on June 6. Technical evidence also pointed to his involvement.
According to police, Ashok Kumar Goud and Praneeth drove to the statue, wrapped it with a bedsheet and poured about a litre of petrol brought in a can before setting it on fire. They allegedly fled the spot immediately after the act.
Police said the two had conspired to damage NTR statues and create tension between different groups. The NTR statue near NG College was allegedly their first target.
Both were arrested and booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
Ashok Kumar Goud had contested the Warangal-Nalgonda-Khammam Graduates' MLC election as an Independent candidate in 2022 and lost. He runs a coaching centre for competitive examinations and is locally known as "Ashok Sir".
