Published Jun 28, 2026 | 7:30 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 28, 2026 | 7:30 PM
Principal Amer Khan speaking to the media
Synopsis: A group of BJP leaders stormed a school in Telangana’s Nizamabad district and assaulted Principal Amer Khan after accusing him of teaching Urdu without parents’ consent. A video of the incident shows police officers at the scene failing to prevent the assault. Police have booked the BJP leaders for assault and also charged the school principal, the school correspondent and an Urdu teacher with promoting enmity after complaints about the Urdu classes and allegations that they included the recitation of the Kalma.
A group of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders stormed Bharath Chandra High School in Armoor, Nizamabad district, Telangana, and physically assaulted the school’s Principal, Amer Khan, on Saturday, 27 June, over allegations that Urdu was being taught to students without their parents’ consent.
A video shows BJP Armoor president M Balu slapping and verbally abusing Khan. Crucially, it also shows Armoor Town Circle Inspector P Satya Narayana and a sub-inspector present during the assault, failing to intervene.
Amer Khan, a resident of Ziyarat Nagar, was assaulted after BJP leaders objected to Urdu being offered as a second language at the school. They alleged that their children had been exposed to Urdu songs and religious content.
Some reports had earlier suggested that Khan also taught Urdu at the school. However, the school management said the subject was taught by a different Urdu teacher, Umme Hani, and only for two days.
Amer was slapped and repeatedly abused in full view of police!
Amer’s mistake?
He is teaching Urdu to his students.Why?
Because Amer is an Urdu teacher who was hired by the school to teach Urdu, the Second Official language of Telangana.Bharat Chandra School in Armoor,… pic.twitter.com/uBSMnhoDn3
— Revathi (@revathitweets) June 28, 2026
Police have registered a case against BJP leaders M Balu, Srinivas Reddy and Dasharath on charges of trespass, assault and mischief, based on a complaint lodged by A Mallaiah. They have also registered a case against Khan.
The SHO confirmed that a case under Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered against Khan, school correspondent A Mallaiah and Urdu teacher Umme Hani. Section 196 of the BNS penalises actions, speeches or writings that promote enmity between different groups based on religion, race, caste, language or place of birth.
CI P Satya Narayana said parents of Hindu students at Bharath Chandra High School had complained that “Kalma was being recited” at the school.
He said the police acted on the instructions of Mandal Revenue Officer and Tahsildar N Satya Narayana. The Tahsildar said he acted on instructions from the District Collector and the Sub-Collector.
“I first heard from the police about the parents’ complaints. I then received instructions from the Sub-Collector to submit a report. I interacted with the parents and found that students were being taught Urdu. I reported it to my superiors. I also flagged it with the Mandal Education Officer. The Collector’s office ordered me to maintain law and order. I passed on those instructions to the local police,” he said.
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Khan has alleged that the police refused to accept his complaint against the BJP leaders who assaulted him. He also said he was severely beaten during the attack.
“The BJP leaders entered the school and started verbally abusing me. They also beat me badly. But the police did not help me in any way. Instead, they also scolded me using abusive language,” alleged Khan. He said he was further humiliated when he was made to sit on the floor for hours in his own office.
Khan was detained by the police around noon on Saturday and remained in their custody until 9 pm. His friends and family later took him to a nearby hospital in Armoor for treatment before shifting him to another hospital in Nizamabad.
“I was kicked in my private parts. I was also bleeding from other injuries. I had an injury on my forehead after being hit with a steel water bottle. It was only when my family arrived that I was taken to the hospital,” he said.
Khan said that his father tried to lodge a complaint against the BJP leaders who assaulted him, but the Armoor police refused to accept it. However, they accepted the complaint filed by the school correspondent.
“Only because I am a Muslim, they are punishing me,” he alleged, adding that those responsible for approving the Urdu-language classes were left unscathed.
“They did not beat up the correspondent, Mallaiah, who is a Hindu. They did not cause any major property damage to the school. But I am being punished despite having no part in this ordeal. It’s only because I am a Muslim,” he said.
Amer Khan denied the allegations levelled against him by the BJP leaders and the police. He said a group of Muslim parents had approached the school management last year, requesting that Urdu be introduced as a second language for their children.
The management reportedly agreed to implement the proposal from the following academic year.
Khan told South First that the school correspondent, Mallaiah, appointed Umme Hani as the Urdu teacher, and classes began only last week with the start of the 2026–27 academic year.
“I had no part in this decision. The correspondent appointed her. It is also a very small issue that got blown out of proportion. We had a logistical problem segregating students who opted for Telugu and Urdu. We do not have extra classrooms. We are still waiting for the new building, which is under construction,” Khan said.
Khan added that the management discontinued the Urdu classes within two days of introducing them after receiving several complaints from Hindu parents.
“When the parents visited the school yesterday, we told them that we had already stopped the Urdu classes. They were fine with it and were about to leave. That’s when the police, along with local BJP leaders, entered. Suddenly, there was a large crowd gathered on the school premises,” he said.
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The incident has sparked widespread outrage. Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) spokesperson Amjed Ullah Khan questioned why Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) N Satya Narayana was involved.
“How is an MRO related to the education department? Why are the police acting on his instructions?” he asked.
Khan also cited what he described as a pattern of selective policing, pointing to a separate case in Armoor’s Pimpri village in which a Muslim man, Abdul Bari, was allegedly assaulted and defrauded by a Hindu man, Raja Mallu.
He claimed that the Armoor police arrested Abdul Bari while taking no action against Raja Mallu. He further alleged that an illegal village development committee in Pimpri had threatened to drive 15 Muslim families out of the village.
Khan also accused BJP Armoor president M Balu of orchestrating similar hate campaigns.
“He forced Muslim shopkeepers to shut down their bangle stores in Armoor. He instructed that Hindu women should buy bangles only from Hindu vendors. The police did not intervene then either,” he alleged.
Khan demanded an inquiry into the role of the Armoor police in these incidents.
Telangana has witnessed a disturbing rise in hate crimes targeting its Muslim population, with at least three high-profile incidents reported in June.
On the night of 15 June, a Muslim couple, Mohammed Talha and his wife Farhana Begum, were assaulted by a mob in Mahabubnagar district after a minor road accident involving a youth on a motorcycle.
The youth allegedly called his friends, who assaulted the couple and stole Farhana’s gold ornaments.
On 17 June, a Muslim family at the Janapriya Lakefront apartment complex in Kapra, Hyderabad, faced harassment from fellow residents.
A group led by Manoj Kumar abused Nadeem Ahmed, calling him “Pakistani” and “illegal”. A video of the incident went viral, drawing widespread criticism online. Kumar later issued a public apology, claiming the remarks had “slipped out”.
Amjed Ullah Khan said these incidents reflected a troubling pattern in the handling of hate crimes across Telangana.
“In many cases of mob violence where the victims are from the minority community, the police are filing cases against the victims. That’s what happened with Amer Khan, too,” he said.
Amjed Ullah Khan also criticised the ruling Congress, alleging that Telangana is gradually becoming “a laboratory of the RSS” under its watch.
