A group of around 2,000 people staking claim to a piece of government land in Hyderabad’s Miyapur area led to clashes on Saturday, June 22 after the police and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) officials tried to disperse the gathering. The group reportedly gathered after a WhatsApp message claimed that those who wanted land or 2 BHK houses, promised during the previous BRS regime, could visit Miyapur and claim it.
Section 144 of the Criminal Code of Procedure (CrPC) has been imposed until June 29 in Miyapur and Chandanagar areas to prevent riots or obstruction of duty. The prohibitory orders came into force from 6 AM on June 23 and would continue till 11 PM on June 29. A significant police presence has been deployed at the site to prevent further unrest.
The tension escalated on Saturday, June 22 when thousands of people from Hyderabad's neighbouring districts gathered on the land, demanding the right to build houses. They argued that they had been denied 2 BHK houses promised during the BRS regime and now sought to claim the Miyapur land for themselves. A WhatsApp forward was also being widely circulated, allegedly encouraging people to come and claim a piece of the land. The WhatsApp message allegedly said that whoever wants a piece of land or 2BHK houses could visit the Miyapur land and claim it.
The confrontation turned violent when the police, accompanied by officials from the HMDA, attempted to remove the encroachers. The crowd responded by pelting stones, resulting in injuries to several police officers. The police were initially forced to retreat under the barrage of stones.
A case regarding the ownership of the land is currently pending in court, with revenue authorities having previously handed over the land to HMDA. On Saturday, the police and HMDA officials arrived to enforce the court's directives and vacate the encroachers, but were attacked by the crowd.
The police fled to save themselves and returned with additional forces in an attempt to evict the protesters. A few hundred people had already erected makeshift sheds and huts on the land, refusing to leave despite the legal and police action. The police have registered cases against several individuals for stone-pelting and inciting violence.