Hyderabad: Police have arrested Suresh, the prime accused in the Lagacharla incident involving an attack on the district collector. Suresh surrendered earlier today and was immediately taken into custody. He was presented before the Kodangal Magistrate. Designated as Accused No. 2 (A2) in the case, Suresh is accused of inciting villagers to attack the collector and deliberately leading officials into the village. He had been absconding since the incident.
On November 11, officials organized a meeting near Lagacharla to discuss land acquisition for Pharma City. The district collector and key officials were in attendance. According to police, Suresh allegedly convinced the collector to visit the village under a premeditated plan. Villagers, already mobilized, reportedly attacked the collector and other officials during the visit, as outlined in the remand report.
Police investigations revealed that Suresh had conducted meetings with villagers for a week leading up to the incident, encouraging them to resist the land acquisition. Former Kodangal MLA Patnam Narender Reddy has also been named as a primary conspirator and was arrested earlier. Police uncovered evidence of multiple phone conversations between Reddy and Suresh before the attack, pointing to a coordinated plan to target the collector and officials.
The case has raised concerns over the safety of government officials during land acquisition drives and has drawn widespread attention across the state.