Telangana’s Karimnagar police have arrested Venkat Balmoor, the president of the Telangana National Students’ Union of India and a Congress leader, on charges of donkey theft. The arrest was made on February 18, Friday. The Congress leader has been accused of stealing the same donkey he used in a rally against Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao on his birthday on February 17, Thursday.
A complaint was lodged against the Congress leader at Jammikunta Police Station in Karimnagar on Friday. In the complaint, six other individuals had also been named but they are absconding.
Based on the complaint, the Congress leader was arrested and charged for unlawful assembly, provocation with intent to cause riot, theft and showing cruelty to animals. The FIR was booked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 143, 153, 504, 379 read with 149, Section 67 of IT Act and Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
Venkat Balmoor was detained following a protest at Karimnagar’s Satavahana University.
According to reports, the NSUI president celebrated Telangana Chief Minister KCR’s birthday by putting KCR’s picture on a donkey’s face outside Satavahana University. The ruling party leaders approached the police based on this.
“For ruining the lives of farmers, students and unemployed youth. For false promises, fake propaganda,” Balmoor had tweeted with images of a donkey on KCR’s birthday.
>For ruining the lives of farmers, students and unemployed youth.
— Venkat Balmoor (@VenkatBalmoor) February 17, 2022
>For false promises, fake propaganda#HappyBirthdayKCR #TelanganaDrohiDiwas @INCTelangana @revanth_anumula @manickamtagore @PonnamLoksabha pic.twitter.com/Jz6vfPi3Hr
Balmoor and the other accused were allegedly protesting the lack of government jobs in the state by putting an image of KCR on the donkey. The Congress leader had recently contested the Huzurabad bypolls.
Reacting to his arrest, senior Congress leader Manickam Tagore said, “Unbelievable by KCR garu, how crazy when the power goes into your head you can put false cases against a student leader. No words to condemn the misuse of power by Telangana first Hitler.”
Telangana state NSUI president @VenkatBalmoor arrested yesterday late night on charges of stealing a “DONKEY”
— Revanth Reddy (@revanth_anumula) February 18, 2022
What else can you expect from Telangana police under KCR’s rule…?!
What do you think about this…? pic.twitter.com/fuW0VAIqzX
Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy also condemned the “illegal” arrest of the leader. What else can you expect from Telangana police under KCR’s rule…?! he Tweeted.
The Congress party called a protest on the occasion of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief and Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao’s birthday on Thursday, February 17. Hyderabad Congress MP and Telangana unit chief, Revanth Reddy, was detained and shifted to the Jubilee Hills police station on Thursday morning for planning a protest on KCR’s birthday.
