The backlash over the Congress government’s handling of a November 11 incident in Vikarabad in Telangana in which senior officials were attacked during a public hearing on land acquisition is spreading, with villagers accusing the police of excesses in going after the alleged assaulters.

The Opposition, including the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) whose leaders are among those arrested and the BJP, have taken up the matter, demanding accountability from Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. The tribal-dominated Lagacherla village where the incident happened falls in Revanth’s Kodangal Assembly constituency.

With the NHRC and other human rights commissions visiting the village, the state government on Monday transferred Karunasagar Reddy, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Parigi zone in Vikarabad. It has asked Additional DGP (Law and Order) Mahesh Bhagwat to conduct a probe into the matter.

Lagacherla and its surrounding villages are dominated by tribals of the Lambada community. The Telangana government has proposed to acquire around 1,000 acres of land here for a pharmaceutical hub – the first such acquisition in the area, which the community is strongly opposed to. The Opposition has pointed out that among the companies interested in the pharma hub is a relative of Revanth.

On November 11, District Collector Prateek Jain, Kodangal Area Development Authority Chairman Venkat Reddy, and several Revenue Department officials visited Lagacherla for a public hearing on the land acquisition. The villagers boycotted the hearing and attacked the officials, reportedly “unprovoked”, with sticks, bricks and stones, with the assault lasting several minutes.

While Jain escaped unharmed, Reddy and others were seriously injured. As videos of the assault went viral, an FIR was filed at the Bomraspet Police Station, following which the police raids followed. Villagers have said policemen raided their homes, including at night, and beat them up, with women too not spared.

Officials have said nearly 60 people have been arrested, including former BRS MLA Patnam Narender Reddy and local BRS leader B Suresh. In their remand report, the police have called Narender and Suresh the “masterminds” of the attack, and claimed that Narender has confessed he was in touch with BRS working president K T Rama Rao, known as KTR, and that it was on the latter’s directions that the assault took place. Narender has denied giving any such confession.

Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said BRS leaders had planned the attack to defame the state government. “Without even hearing out the officials who went to talk to them, they attacked. It was pre-planned,” he said.

Denying any involvement, KTR has accused CM Reddy of “usurping” lands of farmers for the benefit of a company promoted by his close relative. On Monday, KTR said “the plight of tribals in Lagacherla” deserved the same attention as the ethnic violence in Manipur.

“Farmers, tribal women, and marginalised communities from Lagacherla have become victims of forceful land acquisition. These individuals, who have lived and thrived on their lands for decades, are now (being) subjected to police brutality and governmental tyranny. Late-night police operations involved cutting off electricity, forcefully entering homes, and detaining male members indiscriminately. Reports detail how the police harassed women, including pregnant women, with some alleging instances of sexual misconduct. Villagers claim they were assaulted, threatened, and humiliated. Many male members have fled the village in fear, while others remain untraceable,” he said.

The BRS leader has called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to visit Lagacherla. A team of BRS leaders led by KTR has also sought a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu.

BJP leaders, including MPs D K Aruna and Eatala Rajender, and MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy, who were on their way to meet the villagers were detained by the police.

On Monday, Lagacherla was visited by a team of Telangana Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission, and officials of the National Human Rights Commission, the National SC and ST Commissions, and the National Commission for Women.