36 Ganesh Utsav Samithi members detained after protest at Tank Bund

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Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi leaders protest demanding barricades on Tank Band near Hussain Sagar on Monday. | Photo Credit: RAMAKRISHNA G

Tension prevailed at Tank Bund on Monday (September 21) after members of the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi (BGUS) protested against restrictions on Ganesh idol immersion and allegedly attempted to remove iron barricades erected along the lakefront.

Police took 36 members of the Samithi into preventive custody following the protest. They were detained for about three hours and taken to the Gandhi Nagar police station, according to an officer from the Domalguda police.

At around 11 a.m., a large group of BGUS members reached Tank Bund and objected to the iron barricades installed along the railings by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and the city police.

Large banners had also been put up stating that idol immersion was prohibited along the upper Tank Bund stretch in accordance with High Court orders.

The protesters allegedly attempted to unbolt and remove the barricades while raising slogans against the GHMC, prompting police personnel deployed at the spot to intervene.

A Domalguda police officer said the protesters resisted when personnel attempted to take them into preventive custody, leading to some commotion at the spot. Police said the members were aware of the orders restricting immersion along the Tank Bund stretch.

A case was subsequently booked by the Domalguda police under Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the officer said.

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