Telangana: 26 men acquitted in 2012 Saidabad communal violence case

Hyderabad: A local court acquitted 26 persons who were charged by the police for their alleged involvement in communal violence that rocked Saidabad and nearby localities in April 2012.

The Hyderabad police booked six cases against the alleged rioters. The incident at Saidabad began on April 8, 2012, when two groups of Hindus and Muslims clashed at Kurmaguda after ‘pieces of meat’ were found near a temple in Madannapet. It resulted in heavy stone-pelting and brick-batting which was followed by an incident of stabbing.

The police had clamped down curfew in two police station limits to control the violence then at Saidabad. Six Hindu men were arrested by the police for allegedly keeping the pieces of meat in the temple.

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The arrested youngsters were identified as GHMC sanitation supervisor, Nagaraj of Maddannapet, flower decorator Kiran Kumar, hotel waiter Ramesh alias Chinna, car driver Dayand Singh of Kurmaguda, Srinivas alias Salman Srinu and liquor trader Niranjan.

The police had claimed that Srinu and Niranjan conspired at a restaurant on April 7 when they asked Nagaraj, Kiran Kumar, Ramesh and Dayanand Singh to throw pieces of cow legs and spray green-colour water on the wall of Sri Abhayanjaneya Swamy temple which divides two clusters of homes where two groups of people resided.

“Nagaraj, Kiran, Ramesh and Dayanad gathered at a wine shop at Champapet and discussed the preparation, and procurement of the materials to be used at the temple. After having consumed liquor, Nagaraju and Ramesh procured two pieces of cow legs and a paint bottle. They went to the temple and threw the cow legs on the temple wall and also sprayed the coloured water at the place,’’ police had claimed then.

After ten long years, the court proved the charges false and acquitted the six persons and 20 others who were arrested in other cases related to violence.

Karuna Sagar, who extended legal help and represented the acquitted persons said, “Today 26 Hindu youth were acquitted in six cases of 2012 Saidabad communal riots. Out of which one case was so malicious that six Hindu youth were implicated as conspirators behind temple desecration.”

He further tweeted that police officers behind the malicious case must be tried for defamation.