Sri Rangarajan, Archaka of Chilkur Balaji Mandir, was brutally assaulted by members of an organization claiming to be from ‘Ram Rajya Sena’ for not complying with their demands. As per the latest reports, 16 arrests, including that of the leader, have been made.
Sri Rangarajan attacked by ‘Ram Rajyam Sena’ activists.
The Cyberabad police have arrested 10 more accused in connection with the attack on Chilkur Balaji Temple head priest C. S. Rangarajan.
Those arrested were from Srikakulam and East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh and Bhadrachalam town of Telangana. With this, the number of accused arrested in the case has gone up to 16. The police are on the lookout for more accused who are absconding.
Those arrested earlier include the founder of the Rama Rajyam organisation and the main accused, Kovvuri Veer Raghava Reddy. A resident of Manikonda in Hyderabad, Raghava Reddy is a native of East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. He and the other accused have been remanded to judicial custody. Police arrested him on February 10 after the priest complained.
Attack, demand, arrest and more
According to police, 20-25 people clad in black uniforms trespassed into the residence of Rangarajan at Chilkur near Hyderabad on February 7 and assaulted him. They wanted him to support their organisation financially as well as to recruit people into the “Rama Rajyam Army”. The matter came to light on February 8 after Rangarajan complained.
Police said Veer Raghava Reddy started “Rama Rajyam” in 2022 on social media platforms, including Facebook, and operated a YouTube channel. He posted Bhagavad Gita slokas and motivated people to join the Army to protect Hindu Dharma. He also announced that individuals registering between 1 September and 31 December 2024 would be recruited into the “Rama Rajyam Army” with a salary of Rs 20,000. In response to this post, 25 members first met the accused on 24 January 2025 at Tanuku.
After four days of stay, they travelled to Kotappakonda, where they contributed Rs 2,000 each and had uniforms stitched by a local tailor. On February 6, after receiving the uniforms, they gathered in an independent house in Yapral, Hyderabad, and took photos and videos in uniform with the organisation’s backdrop. The next day, they travelled to Chilkur in three vehicles and assaulted Rangarajan.
Shri Aditya Parasri Swami has condemned the attack on Rangarajan ji and asked Hindus to come forward to condemn such acts. He detailed what Ram Rajya entails and how the attack on a Brahmin working for Hindu causes goes against the claim of the attackers. Parasri Swami said that Shri Rangarajan ji has been the only one who has been constantly raising deity rights. He has asked for strict punishment for the perpetrators.
HinduPost reached out to Rangarajan Ji’s family.
HinduPost reached out to Rangarajan ji’s family to gather first-hand information regarding the incident. We spoke to his family member (requesting anonymity as the case is under investigation), who detailed the sequence of events. Initially, when Veeraraghava Reddy, head of ‘Ram Rajyam Sena’, came along with his men, Shri Rangarajan was resting as he had returned late from Prayagraj.
As per details gathered by us, a total of approximately around 26-27 people came to Shri Rangarajan’s residence demanding to meet him. About 26 people were clad in black uniforms with boots and belts along with saffron scarves and one person was in coloured clothes who continued videographing despite objection raised by the family member and explicitly asking him not to film. Although they acted humble, their posturing and language were intimidating.
“The 26 people were clad in black uniform with saffron scarves and adorned tilak on their foreheads. They entered the house without knocking. I asked them to wait as I was in the midst of a religious ritual. They agreed to wait, and later, when I asked them the purpose of their visit, they said that they wanted to support Rangarajan in his cause,” informed the family member.
Veeraragahava Reddy and his men seemed polite, but they had malicious intent, as was apparent subsequently. They also offered to talk to authorities such as judges, police, administration, and politicians among others to get ‘their (Rangarajan Ji’s) work done.’ The family member turned down the offer and explained to Reddy and his men that Ram Rajyam followed the path of Ahimsa as did Rangarajan Ji and his family who have been fighting for the rights of Deities across Bharat.
When the family member spoke of Ahimsa, the gathered people wanted to know if he was talking of Gandhi-type Ahimsa. The family member explained that Ahimsa is of only one type and it means not even thinking of harming any being. “I explained to them that Ahimsa should be of Manasa (mind), Karmana (action), and Vacha (Speech). Furthermore, I gave them examples of how both Sri Rama and Sita Devi upheld Ahimsa while adding that Ram Rajyam also means Sita Rajyam,” he said.
Reddy did not seem to understand what was being told and insisted on speaking to Rangarajan Ji, whom he said had met him earlier. The family member asked them to wait and left to perform the Mandir chores. When he returned home he learned that Rangarajan Ji had been assaulted by the men. “I saw that his eye was red and his cheek was swollen. We immediately informed the police considering the seriousness of the matter,” he recounted.
When Rangarajan Ji was alone, the group barged into the house and assaulted him after he refused to do their bidding. Reddy wanted the Chilkur Balaji Mandir Pujari to join hands with them. “We belong to Rama Rajyam Sena and we want you to provide 100 people for our Sena by Yugadi along with the money for their sustenance,” Reddy said before going on to threaten to kill him if he did not comply.
The family member further highlighted that this is nothing but neo-naxalism. Since Naxalites aren’t getting any support in the country anymore, they are trying to ride the Hindutva wave and extort money in the name of Sri Ram.
The police remand report also notes that they have formed more than 300 WhatsApp groups. They intimidate Mandir Pujaris to get recruits for their ‘army’. Reddy and another person had met Shri Rangarajan a few months ago with the same proposal but he had turned them down earlier as well. The report further notes that the group had vowed to eliminate Rangarajan Ji if he refused to cooperate with them after their second attempt to seek his support.
When the HinduPost team last spoke to the family member, we learned that Rangarajan Ji had undergone a medical examination and has recovered 50% although redness in the eye persisted. However, family members fear for his life as Reddy and his men have allegedly vowed to ‘eliminate’ him. The family has received police protection and an assurance from CM Revanth Reddy regarding the safety of Shri Rangarajan.
Lesson for Hindu Samaj
Many have come forward to support Rangarajan ji and expressed solidarity with him. As the family member rightly highlighted Shri Rangarajan and his family members, including his brothers, are fighting to establish Deities’ rights. They are attempting to re-establish the Deities’ rights that have been taken away by the Constitution’s Article 26 and subsequent Supreme Court judgements in violation of the pre-independence Constitution Assembly’s 22 January 1947 resolution.
It must be highlighted here that instead of offering support to Shri Rangarajan Ji’s cause of establishing the Deities’ Rights, the ‘Ram Rajyam Sena’ people insisted that the former endorse their cause. Such behaviour and intimidating tactics do not suit anyone who claims to be working for the ‘Hindutva’ cause. Hindutva has become a convenient trope for anti-social elements and the ‘Ram Rajyam Sena’ looks like one.
The onus is now on Hindu Samaj to call out elements like Veeraghava Reddy who are merely misusing the name of Prabhu Sri Ram for their selfish interests. Also, people like Reddy are misusing Hindutva thereby harming the movement. Hindutva is defending Hindu Dharma and not extorting money from Pujaris who are doing service of Dharma. No Hindutvawadi would threaten, intimidate, and extort money from Pujaris.
