HYDERABAD: A maha padayatra organised by leaders of various political parties and residents of the Old City demanding construction of Metro rail was foiled by the police on Sunday.
South Zone police detained as many as 400 participants even before the rally began. CPI leader Chada Venkat Reddy, BJP’s Baddam Bal Reddy, Congress leader B Niranjan and TRS leader Rashid Sharif were among those who were taken into preventive custody and later released.
Niranjan told mediapersons that they had sought permission from South Zone police to hold the maha padayatra from Darulshifa to Shalibanada.
“However, because of political pressure from AIMIM, the permission was declined on saturday night. As we received information about the detention of other party workers from Darulshifa, we (Congress workers) started our rally from Sardar Mahal and took a different route. However, we were detained near Kotla Alija,” Niranjan said.