Hyderabad: About 20 people of a group that wanted to establish ‘Rama Rajya’ attacked Chilkur Balaji temple chief priest C S Rangarajan on Friday for declining to associate with them.
On Sunday, Police in Hyderabad arrested a man identified as Veera Raghava Reddy ‘who leads Rama Rajya Sainyam’, The Indian Express reported.
The fringe group wanted C S Rangarajan to patronize and make financial contribution to help them establish their ‘ version Rama Rajya’.
The incident came to light after the priest’s father and Temples Protection Movement convenor M V Soundararajan brought it to the attention of media.
The group according to him wanted to establish its ‘version of Rama Rajya by forming private armies to punish those who do not accept their mission or agenda’.
Inspector G Pavan Kumar Reddy reportedly said: ‘We have arrested the main accused, Veera Raghava Reddy, who leads Rama Rajya Sainyam. He is remanded in judicial custody’.
The inspector added that the main accused who called himself the ruler of Sainyam( army), spread across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, wanted Rangarajan to spread the message of ‘dharma rakshana’.
‘The group is eight years old and has warned Rangarajan to accept their mission before the Ugadi festival or face consequences,’ the inspector was quoted as saying.
Rangarajan complained that about 20 people stormed in when he was alone at home, before assaulting him.
Rangarajan was taken to hospital having suffered internal injuries during the attack. The priest’s father Soundararaan said he is safe.
‘A few people who proclaimed themselves as the descendants of the Ikshwaku clan and want to form Rama Rajya in which they create private armies to punish the people who do not accept their mission or agenda have not understood the concept of constitutional Rama Rajya that is established as above. My son declined to get associated with them,’ Soundararajan reportedly said.
Footage showed Rangarajan with folded hands surrounded by men in black clothes and saffron scarfs.
The alleged attack on the priest caused outrage on social media with K T Rama Rao of Bharat Rashtra Samithi demanding the Telangana government to take action.
The working president of Rashtra Samithi also said that there is ‘not a word from the protectors of Hinduism on this act of cowardice’.
