Hyderabad witnessed heightened political tensions on Thursday, October 23, as several BJP workers, including state president N. Ramachander Rao and Malkajgiri MP Etala Rajendar, were taken into preventive custody. The arrests came after the BJP staged a protest in front of the Secretariat condemning the attack on gau rakshak Sonu Singh, who was allegedly shot the previous night by cattle trader Ibrahim Qureshi in Rampally village, Medchal. Authorities stated that Singh is currently out of danger, while three individuals—main accused Ibrahim Qureshi, Kuruva Srinivas, and Hassanbin Mosin—have been arrested; another accused, Mohammed Haneef, remains at large.

The incident has deepened political fault lines in Telangana, with BJP leaders blaming both the Congress and BRS parties. N. Ramachander Rao criticized the Congress government for being complicit and described the state’s administration as “anarchic,” accusing it of enabling attacks on cow protectors while suppressing peaceful protests. The Telangana BJP echoed these sentiments, alleging that the BRS remained silent while MIM leaders acted with impunity, forcing the BJP to organize protests against what they termed a “Congress-MIM Razakar regime.”

According to police reports, the confrontation between Singh and Ibrahim Qureshi was not an isolated incident. Singh, a self-proclaimed gau rakshak, had previously attempted to extort money from Qureshi on multiple occasions, reportedly causing losses of over Rs 1 crore. The final trigger for the shooting was Singh’s demand of Rs 5 lakh from Qureshi. Political overtones intensified when BJP linked Ibrahim Qureshi to the AIMIM, adding fuel to an already volatile situation in Hyderabad.