BRS Legislature Party Deputy Floor Leader T. Harish Rao said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had admitted to several concerns raised by the BRS over the Section 22-A issue and demanded an explanation for how so many families were affected.

He also demanded that the State government release a White Paper on the Section 22-A prohibited properties issue from December 7, 2023, detailing the extent of land and the number of properties added to and subsequently removed from the list, besides seeking a judicial probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge into the issue and alleged irregularities in the implementation of Bhu Bharati.

Addressing a media conference at Telangana Bhavan, Mr. Harish Rao said, “The Chief Minister admitted that the extent of land on the prohibited list had increased from around 3.71 lakh acres to nearly 30 lakh acres.” He also demanded the immediate removal of properties wrongly included in the 22-A list, saying that merely constituting committees and issuing guidelines would not resolve the problem.

The former Minister alleged that more than 9,200 land registrations under Bhu Bharati had taken place without the knowledge of the actual owners. He defended the BRS government’s record on land-related issues.

BRS ready for detailed inquiry

On the Chief Minister’s announcement of an SIT probe into lands owned by former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, his family members and close relatives, Mr. Harish Rao said the BRS was ready for a detailed inquiry into land and property transactions.

“Mr. Revanth Reddy had earlier claimed that Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao owned a 1,000-acre farmhouse but was now putting the extent at 67 acres,” he said. He alleged that documents available with the BRS showed that the Chief Minister, his son and his brothers together owned 308 acres.

Referring to the lands owned by him, Mr. Harish Rao said, “Documents relating to my agricultural lands are clearly disclosed in my election affidavit and income-tax returns. I do not have even a single extra gunta of land. In fact, officials who surveyed my land found that there were two guntas less.”

He rejected allegations concerning his relatives’ purchase of company shares. “We have declared our assets in our election affidavits. Every transaction is accounted for. If the government has doubts, let there be an independent investigation,” he said.

Claiming that villagers had said the Revanth family owned about 300 acres in Kotra village alone, Mr. Harish Rao said the BRS had documents relating to 175 acres. He further alleged that the family owned another 77 acres in Kondareddypalli and 54 acres as disclosed in an affidavit. He demanded that the Chief Minister explain the alleged total landholding of 308 acres.

The BRS leader said his party had nothing to hide and was prepared to face any independent investigation into the allegations raised against its leaders.

Several other BRS leaders, including MLAs G. Jagadish Reddy and Vemula Prashanth Reddy and MLC Naveen Rao, accused Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy of making ‘blatant lies’ on the floor of the Assembly about the lands owned by Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao and his relatives.

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday directed the Director-General of Police to constitute within 48 hours a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by an officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Police from the CB-CID or another specialised unit unconnected with Sivaganga district, to probe the death of a pregnant woman reported in the district. The woman’s family has alleged dowry-related cruelty.

Justice L. Victoria Gowri directed the Director of Medical Education and Research to constitute the neutral multidisciplinary medical board within 24 hours. The neutral board should take custody of the body and commence the re-post-mortem examination within 48 hours of its constitution. The Collector and Superintendent of Police should provide all assistance for the dignified transportation and burial of the body in accordance with the religious customs of the family, the court directed.

The court was hearing the petition filed by S. Fathima Beevi, mother of the deceased Afrin, of Tirupattur in Sivaganga district. Afrin was married to Mohammed Ashraf in 2026. According to the petitioner, gold jewellery of 19.5 sovereigns, household articles, and customary seer (dowry) articles were given to Afrin and her matrimonial family.

It is alleged that shortly after marriage, Afrin complained that her husband and his relatives demanded an additional 5.5 sovereigns of gold jewellery. The petitioner alleged that Afrin was subjected to physical assault, mental cruelty, humiliation, intimidation, and continuous harassment.

It is stated that Afrin informed her parental family that she was unable to tolerate the cruelty inflicted upon her. Though the petitioner and her family attempted to pacify the dispute and preserve the marriage, the alleged harassment continued.

According to the petitioner, Afrin was approximately four months pregnant at the time. On the night of June 16, Afrin allegedly contacted the petitioner over the telephone and cried uncontrollably. She is said to have stated that she could no longer tolerate the cruelty and requested that she be taken back to her parental home.

On June 17, around 8.40 a.m., Afrin again spoke to the petitioner. This is stated to have been the last meaningful communication between them. Around 9.50 a.m., Afrin’s husband allegedly informed the petitioner that Afrin had locked herself inside a room in the house.

The petitioner and her relatives reached the place at around 10.10 a.m. The petitioner raised doubts about the claim that the victim had died by suicide and said the room appeared to have been secured from outside. She claimed to have noticed visible injuries, including a prominent reddish mark over the posterior aspect of the left shoulder, and other suspicious marks on the body. The petitioner sought the transfer of the investigation to an independent SIT, preservation of all material and electronic evidence, constitution of a neutral medical board, and a re-post-mortem examination of the body.

(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416, Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050 and Speak2Us mental health helpline 9375493754.)