Lecturer Among Two Held for Burning NTR Statue in Nalgonda
A lecturer and a private employee have been arrested in Nalgonda for setting fire to an N.T. Rama Rao statue. Police confirmed the act was a deliberate conspiracy to incite public discord. Both suspects face charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and public property laws.
Highlights
- •Two men, including a lecturer, were arrested for burning an N.T. Rama Rao statue in Nalgonda.
- •The incident occurred on June 6 near NG College with the intent to spark public unrest.
- •Police used CCTV surveillance and technical evidence to link the suspects to the crime.
- •The accused have been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Public Property Damage Act.
In a concerning incident aimed at stoking public discord, a Nalgonda lecturer and a private sector employee have been taken into custody for the destruction of an N.T. Rama Rao statue. The act, which involved setting fire to the memorial of the Telugu Desam founder and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, was allegedly calculated to incite tensions between different community groups.
Investigation and Arrest Details
The individuals arrested in connection with the Nalgonda statue burning have been identified as Palakuri Ashok Kumar Goud, a 45-year-old lecturer from Chaitanyapuri in Hyderabad, and 23-year-old Elukanti Praneeth, a private employee residing in Maheshwaram, Rangareddy district. Local authorities have confirmed that the incident occurred in the early hours of June 6 near NG College, where unidentified perpetrators doused the statue in petrol before igniting it.
Superintendent of Police Sharath Chandra Pawar provided details during a recent press briefing, noting that law enforcement utilized extensive CCTV footage analysis to track the suspects. The investigation revealed that a vehicle linked to Ashok Kumar Goud was observed moving in a suspicious manner near the statue site at approximately 3:25 am on the day of the incident. Further technical investigation confirmed the involvement of both individuals.
Conspiracy and Legal Consequences
According to reports from the police, the duo had planned a series of actions to damage NTR statues across the region with the specific intent of creating communal or social friction. The monument near NG College was identified as the initial target in their scheme. Before setting the statue ablaze, the suspects reportedly wrapped it in a bedsheet and utilized approximately one liter of petrol.
Following their apprehension, both suspects have been formally charged under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. Ashok Kumar Goud, who is well-known locally as \"Ashok Sir\" for running a competitive examination coaching center, had previously entered the political arena as an independent candidate for the Warangal-Nalgonda-Khammam graduates' MLC election in 2022. The swift action by the police to identify and arrest the suspects serves as a stern reminder of the legal consequences for those seeking to disturb public peace through the destruction of public property.
