One held in attack on Chilkur priest CS Rangarajan

Hyderabad: The Moinabad police on Sunday arrested one Veera Raghava Reddy for allegedly attacking and threatening Chilkur Balaji temple priest C.S. Rangarajan at his residence near the temple, on Friday morning.

Rangarajan suffered internal injuries and was taken to a hospital in the city for treatment and discharged later.

According to Moinabad inspector G. Pavan Kumar Reddy, Veera Raghava Reddy is associated with the ‘Society of Rama Rajya’. On Friday morning, he reached Rangarajan’s residence near the temple with 20 others and asked him to be a part of the society.

On refusal, the accused and the group allegedly manhandled the priest. When priest Rangarajan’s son tried to intervene, they attacked him too. “We believe that the main reason behind this violence was because the society members wanted some funding. But since Rangarajan refused to be a part of the society at all, there would be no inflow of money. In this regard, they tried to manhandle and even threatened him,” the inspector said.

Police booked a case registered following a complaint and arrest Raghava Reddy. He was further sent to the Chanchalguda jail. Those accompanying him were members of the society but were at large. The police are making efforts to trace them out.

Rangarajan in his complaint stated that on February 7, about 20 people barged into his house in Chilkur and 'manhandled' him. A video of the incident circulating on social media shows the priest surrounded by several individuals dressed in black.

Rangarajan’s father and Temples Protection Movement convener M.V. Soundararajan issued a press statement on Sunday, alleging that a group claiming to be descendants of the Ikshvaku clan sought to establish Rama Rajya by forming private armies to punish those “who do not accept their mission or agenda.”

He stated that they had “misunderstood the concept of “Constitutional Rama Rajya”.

Soundararajan alleged that since his son refused to associate with them, he was assaulted.