Lagacharla farmer taken to hospital in handcuffs, Telangana CM orders probe

Hyderabad (The Uttam Hindu): Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday ordered an inquiry into the handcuffing of a farmer arrested last month for attacking officials during a public hearing on land acquisition for a pharma cluster in Lagacharla village of Vikarabad district. Revanth Reddy took serious note of the farmer Heerya Naik being handcuffed while he was taken to a hospital from Sangareddy Jail, where he was in judicial custody.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office, the Chief Minister enquired about the incident from officials. He expressed his anger and asked what was the need for handcuffing the farmer. He directed senior officials to conduct an inquiry and submit a comprehensive report. He warned the officials that the "people's government" would not tolerate such incidents. The farmer was taken to hospital after he complained of chest pain. The authorities were making arrangements to shift him to Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad.

According to the Sangareddy Hospital superintendent, the farmer's condition was stable but as he had a history of chest pain, he was being shifted to Gandhi Hospital. Meanwhile, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president has condemned the handcuffing of the farmer. "Absolutely heartless, insensitive and shameful of Telangana Government. You handcuff a farmer who's suffered a stroke. Lagacharla farmers have been in jail for over a month now. Their only mistake was they didn't yield to the Revanth Government’s diktats to part with their agricultural land," Rama Rao said in a post on 'X'.

Later, addressing a press conference, the BRS leader slammed the government for handcuffing tribal farmer Heerya Naik. He said that handcuffing a farmer who suffered a stroke is inhuman and shows the "brutal mentality" of the Chief Minister. KTR also accused the government of negligence in providing medical aid to the farmer. He said the farmer's family was not informed and the government tried to suppress the incident.

The former minister claimed that due to pressure from BRS, the government was shifting the farmers to Hyderabad. KTR said two other persons in jail were also having serious health issues. He said BRS leader Patnam Narender Reddy who was arrested in the same case was also not keeping well. Vikarabad District Collector and some other officials were attacked at Lagacharla village during a public hearing on November 11. The incident in Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's Assembly constituency Kodangal had triggered a political slugfest between the ruling Congress and the main opposition BRS with the former blaming BRS leaders for the violence. Police arrested several villagers including farmers. BRS leader and former MLA Narender Reddy was also held for instigating villagers.