Assault on Chilkur Balaji Temple head priest: 5 more held; main accused recruited ‘army’ via Facebook
Veer Raghava Reddy floated the ‘Rama Rajyam Army’ in 2022 on Facebook
By Sistla Dakshina Murthy Published on 10 Feb 2025 6:41 PM IST
Chilkur Balaji Temple head priest CS Rangarajan (File Photo)
Hyderabad: Five more persons were arrested in connection with the attack on Chilkur Balaji Temple head priest CS Rangarajan on Monday.
Among the five accused, two are women from Khammam and Nizamabad districts, said DCP (Rajendranagar Zone) Ch Srinivas.
Disclosing the case details, Srinivas said that on February 7, at 8 am, 20-25 people clad in black clothes went to Rangarajan’s home. They demanded that he support them financially and help in recruiting people into the ‘Rama Rajyam Army’. Then they assaulted him. The incident came to light on February 8, after Rangarajan filed a complaint and a case was registered.
The DCP said that the accused have been identified and the primary accused was arrested on the same day of the complaint being filed i.e. February 8.
The primary accused is Sri Rama Rajyam organisation founder Kovvuri Veer Raghava Reddy (45), a resident of Manikonda, and a native of Koppuru village, Annaparthi Mandal, East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh. He was arrested and remanded to judicial custody.
Who is Veer Raghava Reddy and Rama Rajyam Army?
Veer Raghava Reddy floated the ‘Rama Rajyam Army’ in 2022 on Facebook and runs a YouTube channel. His posts were about Bhagavad Gita slokas and he encouraged his audience to join his army to ‘protect Hindu Dharma.’
He opened registrations for joining his army from September 1 to December 31, 2024, and offered to pay Rs 20,000 per person.
In response to the post, as many as 25 members met the accused on January 24 in Tanuku. After four days of stay, all of them went to Kotappakonda where a contribution of Rs 2,000 was collected from each individual and they also got their ‘uniforms’ stitched by a local tailor.
On February 6, after getting the uniforms, all of them met in an independent house in Yapral, Hyderabad, and posed for photos and videos promoting their organisation and their banner.
On February 7, they went to Chilkur in three vehicles and assaulted the priest, the DCP said. The arrested are going to be produced before the court, he added.
Further investigation is on.
CM Revanth speaks to Rangarajan, directs police to take stringent action
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy spoke to Chilkur Balaji Temple head priest CS Rangarajan over phone to check on his well-being after the recent attack.
Revanth Reddy expressed his concern and sympathised with him. He also warned that such attacks on priests will not be tolerated and ordered police officials to take stringent action against the assailants who involved in the attack on Rangarajan.
Minister for IT D Sridhar Babu also condemned the attack on Rangarajan. "This is a heinous act, there is no ignorance on those who are committing anarchy by rowdyism in the name of Rama Rajyam. Denigrating the name of Lord Ram and indulging in anarchic and barbaric activities is not only an unforgivable crime but also an act of hurting the sentiments of Lord Rama's devotees," he said.
The minister also made it clear that the government will deal with such evil acts and anarchic forces very strictly. "Such attacks on the priests who are selflessly working for the welfare of the society while protecting Dharma are inhumane," he added.
KTR visits Rangarajan, slams government for law and order issues in Telangana
Earlier in the day, BRS party working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Monday condemned the attack on Chilkur Balaji Temple head priest CS Rangarajan and his father MV Soundararajn.
KTR, along with his party MLAs Sabitha Indra Reddy and Padi Kaushik Reddy and party leader RS Praveen Kumar and others met Rangarajan at his residence to check on his well-being after the recent attack.
"Law and order has deteriorated in the state, whoever did it and in what name it was done should not be ignored. If Rangarajan's family, who are involved in divine service, is in this circumstance, one can see how law and order are maintained in the state," KTR said.
The BRS working president also said that the perpetrators of this crime should be prosecuted legally and firmly, and actions should be taken to avoid similar instances from happening in the future.
