The Telangana IAS Officers Association has condemned the recent alleged assault on Vikarabad District Collector Prateek Jain, which took place on November 11 during a Gram Sabha in Lagcherla village, Dudyala mandal. The meeting, focused on land acquisition for Telangana’s Pharma City project, turned violent as villagers reportedly attacked officials, including the district collector, additional collector Lingyanayak, sub-collector Umashankar Prasad, and KADA special officer Venkat Reddy, using sticks and stones.
In response, association leaders Shashank Goel and Jayesh Ranjan affirmed that such incidents would not deter officials from their responsibilities. They stated, “The government is taking strong action, and such acts cannot weaken the resolve of officials to carry out their duties.”
Following the incident, former BRS MLA Patnam Narender Reddy was taken into custody, as one of the assailants was reportedly linked to him. Police detained 55 suspects for questioning and later arrested 16 individuals, remanding them to judicial custody.
Meanwhile, BRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) criticized the detention of Reddy, accusing the Congress-led state government of using undemocratic tactics to frame the BRS. He claimed that the government was suppressing the people’s protest in Lagcherla and that Reddy was being threatened with arrest for supporting public grievances.
