Hyderabad, Feb 10 Cyberabad Police on Monday arrested five more accused including two women for the attack on the Chilkur Balaji Temple head priest Rangarajan.
Founder of the Sri Rama Rajyam organisation and main accused, Kovvuri Veer Raghava Reddy was arrested on Sunday after Rangarajan lodged a complaint with the police.
Raghava Reddy (45), a resident of Manikonda in Hyderabad and native of East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, has been remanded to judicial custody.
Ch. Srinivas, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Rajendranagar Zone said the police arrested on Monday morning arrested five accused, including two women from Khammam and Nizamabad districts.
The DCP said 20-25 people clad in black uniforms went to the residence of Rangarajan around 8 a.m. on February 7. “They demanded him to support financially as well as to recruit people into the “Rama Rajyam Army” and assaulted him. The matter came to light on February 8 and upon the complaint of Sri Rangarajan, a case was registered,” the DCP said.
According to the police officer, the accused, K. Veer Raghava Reddy, started "Rama Rajyam" in 2022 on social media platforms, including Facebook, and operated a YouTube channel. He posted Bhagavad Gita slokas and motivated people to join the Army to protect Hindu Dharma. He also announced that individuals registering between September 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024, would be recruited into the "Rama Rajyam Army" with a salary of Rs 20,000.
In response to this post, 25 members first met the accused on January 24, 2025, at Tanuku. After four days of stay, they travelled to Kotappakonda, where they contributed Rs 2,000 each and had uniforms stitched by a local tailor. On February 6, after receiving the uniforms, they gathered in an independent house in Yapral, Hyderabad, and took photos and videos in uniform with the organisation's backdrop. The next day they travelled to Chilkur in three vehicles and assaulted Rangarajan.
Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy spoke to Rangarajan over the phone and consoled him.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office, the Chief Minister warned that such attacks on priests would not be tolerated and ordered police officials to take stringent action against the assailants involved in the attack on the famous temple’s chief priest.
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