Latest news with #Venkanna
Hans India
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Midnight demolition sparks political outrage
Nalgonda: Tensions flared up in Chundur town of Nalgonda district after municipal officials carried out a midnight demolition of a building reportedly owned by former Municipal Chairman Tokala Venkanna. The building was torn down using JCBs in the dark of the Tuesday night, triggering widespread criticism and allegations of political vendetta. Venkanna condemned the action, accusing municipal authorities of acting in a biased and arbitrary manner. He claimed that road widening and demolition notices were being selectively issued only to non-ruling party members, while structures belonging to ruling party supporters were either ignored or measured leniently. Questionable road measurements raise eyebrows In a scathing criticism of the ongoing road expansion works, Venkanna pointed out glaring inconsistencies in road width—78 feet in some areas, 85 in others, and even 95 feet in a few places. He alleged that these discrepancies reflect favoritism and political targeting. Vowing to challenge the injustice, he announced his intention to approach the High Court, asserting his faith in the judicial system. Political vendetta, cry BRS leaders The controversy deepened when former Munugode MLA Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy visited the demolition site the following day. Accompanied by BRS party leaders and local supporters, he labeled the act as a deliberate political vendetta, allegedly masterminded by current MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy. Prabhakar Reddy accused the ruling MLA of failing to secure even a single rupee of development funds for Chundur. In contrast, he touted his own track record of bringing Rs50 crore in municipal grants during his tenure. Bring development, not demolitions: BRS to Rajgopal Reddy BRS leaders used the incident to challenge Rajgopal Reddy's leadership. 'If you have the courage, bring development to Chundur instead of targeting opposition workers,' said Prabhakar Reddy, accusing the MLA of misusing his power for political revenge. With legal challenges, public protests, and mounting political friction on the horizon, the midnight demolition may well be the beginning of a larger showdown in Chundur's civic and political landscape.
Hindustan Times
12-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Hyderabad hospital CEO caught buying cocaine worth ₹5 lakh, arrested
Two people, including a 34-year-old female doctor were taken into custody here after 53 grams of cocaine was seized from their possession, police said. According to news agency PTI, based on credible information, a team of Raidurgam police caught the doctor and the man when he was handing over to her a packet of cocaine in the doctor's car near a restaurant on May 8. She had ordered the drugs from the Mumbai-based supplier, identified as Vansh Dhakkar, over WhatsApp and paid ₹5 lakh for it on May 4. When Dhakkar's aide Balakrishna was delivering the drugs, that's when the police caught hold of him and the doctor, NDTV reported. "A medical practitioner had ordered drugs from Vansh in Mumbai, who was known to her. A person called Balakrishna then came to supply (drugs) and handed them over to her at Raidurgam," senior police official Venkanna said. He further said that along with 53 grams of cocaine, police also seized from them ₹10,000 cash and two cell phones. Cases under relevant sections of the law have been registered against the accused, Venkanna said, adding that the duo have been sent to judicial custody. The doctor, who was allegedly addicted to drugs, confessed during interrogation that she had spent around ₹70 lakhs on drugs over some time. According to a report from The Hindu, the police collected a sample of the cocaine and sent it to the Telangana Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for analysis and examination. The Raidurgam police are also looking for another person, who is allegedly a local peddler involved in the drug trade. Recently, seizures made by the Mumbai unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have indicated that narcotics-trafficking syndicates are now using air routes to smuggle high-value contraband like cocaine. From April 2024 to March 2025, the DRI's Mumbai unit seized more than 18 kilograms of foreign-origin cocaine estimated to be around ₹180 crore in 12 separate cases, HT reported.
