Five more individuals involved in the attack on C.S. Rangarajan, the head priest of Chilkur Balaji Temple, were arrested by the Moinabad police of Cyberabad on Monday.
“On the morning of February 7, a group of 20-25 individuals, dressed in black uniforms, arrived at the priest’s residence and demanded financial support as well as recruitment in the ‘Rama Rajyam Army’. When he refused, the group allegedly assaulted him,” said Ch. Srinivas, DCP of Rajendra Nagar zone.
The DCP issued a statement about the attack and announced the arrest of the five, including two women from Khammam and Nizamabad districts.
The matter surfaced a day later, and upon the priest’s complaint, a case was registered.
“We swiftly acted, identifying all the accused and arresting the prime suspect, Kovvuri Veer Raghava Reddy, on February 8. Reddy, a 45-year-old resident of Manikonda, and a native of Koppuru village in East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, was remanded to judicial custody,” he added.
The officer also clarified that Reddy founded the ‘Rama Rajyam’ movement in 2022 via social media platforms, including Facebook and YouTube. “His online activity focused on sharing Bhagavad Gita slokas while encouraging followers to join the ‘Rama Rajyam Army’ under the pretext of protecting Hindu dharma. He had even announced a recruitment drive between September and December 2024, offering a salary of ₹20,000 to those who enlist,” the DCP said.
“Prior to the attack, the first group of 25 recruits met Reddy on January 24, 2025 in Tanuku, Andhra Pradesh. They later travelled to Kotappakonda, where they each contributed ₹2,000 to have black uniforms stitched. On February 6, the group members met at a residence in Yapral, Hyderabad, where they posed for photos and videos in their newly acquired uniforms against an organisational backdrop. The following day, they travelled in three vehicles to Chilkur, where they carried out the attack on the priest,” narrated the officer.
The Cyberabad police continue to investigate the group’s operations and potential wider network.
Following the incident, Dr. M.V. Soundararajan, the priest’s father and convenor of the Temples Protection Movement, issued an official statement. He condemned the attackers, stating that they falsely claimed to be descendants of the Ikshwaku clan and sought to establish a private army to enforce their agenda. He emphasised that they had misunderstood the concept of Rama Rajya. He further revealed that his son, Rangarajan, refused to associate with them, leading to the assault.
Published – February 10, 2025 07:18 pm IST