Published Nov 04, 2026 | 7:21 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 04, 2026 | 7:24 PM
Police used force as tensions ran high outside the Meerpet police station.
Synopsis: Meerpet police station in Telangana’s Rangareddy district witnessed tense moments on Wednesday after the police arrested two men for assaulting two Christian women, alleging they were trying to convert children. While Dalit and civil society groups gathered outside the station seeking punishment for the assaulters, a pro-Hindutva group also reached the scene. As tempers rose, police resorted to a lathicharge to disperse the crowd.
Two men were arrested and remanded to judicial custody for allegedly assaulting two young Christian women, alleging that they were trying to convert people near the Dr BR Ambedkar statue at Almasguda in Maheshwaram mandal of Telangana’s Rangareddy district.
Though the alleged incident happened last month, it came to light after a video clip was circulated on social media on Tuesday, 3 November.
Police identified the accused as Lakshmi Narayana and Sashivardhan. “An FIR has been registered, and both the accused have been apprehended. They have been sent to judicial custody,” Meerpet Police Station House Officer (SHO) B Shobhan told South First on Wednesday, 4 November.
The accused were charged with sections 74 and 196(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Section 74 penalises assault or criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty, and carries a jail term of one to five years along with a fine. Section 196(1) deals with promoting enmity between religious, racial, caste, or linguistic groups and is punishable with up to three years in prison, a fine, or both.
The viral video showed a group of men stopping the two women and accusing them of trying to convert children by offering chocolates. They then demanded to search the women’s bags for books.
The women rejected the charge, telling the men they were on their way to meet a relative. They were heard apologising and begging to be left alone. One of the men repeatedly slapped them and hurled expletives at them.
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Earlier, Sabitha Indra Reddy, MLA, representing the Maheshwaram constituency, said that it was sad to see two women being brutally beaten up, and called on the police to trace the people behind the attack and prosecute them. She added that complaints about religious activity should be settled through the law and not with force.
BRS general secretary RS Praveen Kumar called the attack a brazen violation of constitutional rights. He said the police, not hooligans, must deal with violations of law. He called on the police to register a suo motu case against the accused.
After the accused were apprehended, Kumar claimed that the two women were reportedly distributing invitations for a youth convention ahead of Christmas, and questioned how that qualified as a crime.
“Indian Constitution gives freedom to ‘every’ religion to profess, practice, and propagate,” he posted on X.
Tension prevailed outside Meerpet police station on Wednesday when two groups gathered there. Dalit Christian and civil society groups staged a protest demanding justice for the women. Members of Hindu groups also gathered later, raising slogans like ‘Jai Sri Ram’, which led to mild tensions.
As the crowd did not disperse despite repeated warnings, police resorted to a lathicharge to bring the situation under control.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
