HYDERABAD: BJP Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh courted controversy on Wednesday after alleging that six-time Grand Slam winner Sania Mirza was present at the time a calf was shot dead five days ago in Dammagudem reserve forest in Vikarabad.
Attributing the news to the locals, the MLA alleged that Sania owned a farmhouse near the place where the calf was found dead. He demanded that the Chief Minister book a murder case against those who killed the "holy cow" and conduct an inquiry into Sania’s role in the incident.
On October 23, a dead calf was found with bullet injuries, along with a buffalo, near Dammagudem village of Pudur mandal in Vikarabad. The police suspected the watchman of a farmhouse and arrested him. "The media reported that Umer, a security guard at Sania Mirza’s farmhouse, shot the calf. But villagers are saying that Sania was present at the time of the incident and she herself drew the firearm," Singh said.
The MLA also alleged that hunting wild animals was a regular hobby of Sania’s relatives. "The villagers say that Sania would often come to the farmhouse along with her relatives from Dubai and Saudi Arabia. They would go hunting in the forest. There were also instances of peacocks being killed inside the farmhouse, which never came to light," he added.