Hyderabad:
A five-member fact-finding team of BJP national leaders, led by Rajya Sabha member and party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar, was taken into preventive custody when they tried to proceed towards riot-hit areas in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
The BJP fact finding team set up by party president Nitin Gadkari was here to visit riot-hit areas in Old City which had witnessed communal clashes recently. Besides Javadekar, the team, comprising of Shanappa and Prahlad Joshi (both MPs), national spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman and secretary Dr K Laxman.
When they came out from the BJP office at M J Road, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Zone) Hari Kumar tried to convince the team members that not to go ahead as prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were already in force after lifting of day-time curfew. However, the police denied permission to visit the riot-hit areas.
At this stage, the police and BJP leaders had arguments for not permitting to visit some parts of the Old City which witnessed communal clashes. Over 50 party workers, who raised slogans against the police for preventing their leaders to visit the Old City, were also taken into custody. Party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman alleged that the State government and police were acting in a dictatorial manner.
Police also took BJP Andhra Pradesh unit president G Kishan Reddy into custody along with the 50 party workers when he was addressing the media on the road and condemned the action of the police against the party's fact finding team.