Hyderabad: VHP, Bajrang Dal go on a rampage

Angered by the demolition of a small temple as part of a road widening programme in a Hyderabad neighbourhood, activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal went on a rampage in the city.

As the infuriated mob blocked traffic and targeted RTC buses demanding action against the officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation for the removal of the road side 'Pochamma temple', the police used lathis to disperse the crowd.

The issue threatened to take a communal color as a youth belonging to another community was stabbed in Sultan Bazar area. He was rushed to the Osmania Hospital in critical condition. The police found the knife covered in blood and was looking for the assailant.

A bus and jeep belonging to the Road Transport Corporation was burnt at Kothi and Kachiguda Chowrastha area, other buses were damaged in stone pelting in different places including Naraynguda. The angry protestors also forced the closure of shops in several places.

As the senior BJP leaders including the state unit president Bandaru Dattatreya also rushed to the scene, crowds further swelled and they shouted slogans against the Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and the state government. Strongly condemning the removal of the temple in the name of road widening, Dattatreya charged the government with hurting the sentiments of Hindus. "Where was the need for the government to act like a thief and pulled down the temple during the night", he asked.

But the state minister for municipal administration Koneru Ranga Rao defended the action of GHMC saying the RTC had requested the municipal authorities to remove the wall of the temple as it was coming in the way of buses taking a turn at the place and causing traffic jams. "The allegation that temple was demolished was baseless. We have only removed a wall", he said. He charged the BJP with trying to give a communal and political color to the issue. "How the people who themselves were involved in demolishing the places of worship of other communities can level such allegations against the government," he said.

Finally it was the local Congress legislator and minister Mukesh Goud who intervened and placated the protestors promising get the structure rebuilt. He also announced that the GHMC officials additional commissioner Deshpande and town planning deputy commissioner Madhusudhan Rao.