Key accused in Secunderabad violence identified

Hyderabad, June 20:  Railway Police have identified key accused in June 17 violence at Secunderabad railway station here.

Madhusudhan, 20, has been named as the accused number one in the case. He hails from Yellareddy in Kamareddy district.

The police revealed this in the remand report submitted in the court. It concluded that the violence to protest against the Agnipath scheme for army recruitment was pre-planned.

The police stated that some private coaching institutes instigated army job aspirants to violence. WhatsApp groups were created to incite the youth and mobilise them, taking inspiration from violence that had occurred at railway stations in Bihar over the same issue.

The police named 56 as accused in the cases registered in connection with the violence. While 46 accused have already been arrested, search was on for the remaining accused.

According to police, about 2,000 protestors entered the state through gate number three. Some of them were armed with sticks and petrol bottles. They reached all platforms and resorted to stone pelting and damaged a few train coaches.

The protestors set afire four coaches of three trains. They tried to set afire two locomotives which had huge quantities of fuel. As they did not heed to the warnings to disperse, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) opened fire. One person was killed and 12 injured in the firing.

Meanwhile, police have reportedly picked up five persons who were administrators of the WhatsApp groups. Through these groups, the youth were given directions where and when to reach for the protest.

In a related development, intelligence agencies on Monday conducted searches at Sai Defence Academy in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Sleuths of the central intelligence conducted searches at the Academy's branch in Narasaraopet in Planadu district. They questioned Director A. Subba Rao, an ex-serviceman who has already been detained by the police for questioning for his alleged role in Secunderabad violence.

Meanwhile, parents of the youths arrested by the Railway Police made a beeline to Chanchalguda Central Prison in Hyderabad to meet them. Some of them were seen crying after meeting their children. They claimed that their children are innocent. They said they had no knowledge that they would be going to Secunderabad station for protest.

Parents of the arrested youth said there should be thorough investigation to find out the real culprits.