Telangana: Dalit leader Bairi Naresh assaulted by Hindutva workers in Hanamkonda

Hyderabad: Bairi Naresh, president of ‘Bharata Nasthika Samajam’ or the Atheist Society of India, was assaulted by Hindutva workers on Monday in Hanamkonda while he was being taken by the state police.

In a video that has gone viral, an attacker can be seen roughing up Naresh who is seated inside a police vehicle. Even as police try to move the attacker away, more people join.

Naresh was arrested earlier for making a derogatory speech against Hindu god Ayyappa in Vikarabad district on December 19 last year. The video soon went viral angering many right-wing organizations.

Later, while speaking to the media Naresh, who is currently on bail, said he had come to Hanamkonda to attend a college event.

“I was informed that BJP and RSS people were looking for me. Fearing an attack, I contacted the police who provided me with protection and arranged a vehicle for safe transport. However, the attackers got the better of us,” Naresh said, who belongs to the Dalit community.

Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party Telangana president Dr R S Praveen Kumar condemned the attack on Naresh and questioned chief minister KCR on the ‘declining’ law and order situation in the state.

Taking to Twitter, he tweeted, “#KCR The law and order situation deteriorated badly during the regime. What is the sign of an attempt to kill Bhairi Naresh in broad daylight in the presence of the police? Didn’t the police know that his life was in danger? We categorically condemn the attack on Naresh by fanatic goons.”