Labour minister booked for breach of peace

Andhra Pradesh Labour Minister Danam Nagender, along with his supporters, was today booked for 'breach of peace' among other charges, when he allegedly locked the gate of a temple at Banjara Hills here and threatened members of 'Hare Krishna Movement', police said.

Nagender and his associates were also charged for misbehaving and obstructing the police from discharging their duty, who were deployed near Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in the wake of some locals holding protests and tearing religious banners on Tuesday last, they said. The minister and others are booked under sections 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 342 (wrongful confinement), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and other relevant sections of IPC after they allegedly locked the temple gate and threatened members of 'Hare Krishna Movement', Banjara Hills Inspector Chandrasekhar Goud said.

Sources said Nagender went to the temple this morning following complaints by some locals that members of the 'Hare Krishna' Movement were trying to occupy lands in the vicinity. The minister later told media that he would take up the issue with chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy seeking cancellation of lease of the disputed land measuring around 4 acre in the area. The organisers of 'Hare Krishna Movement', however, maintained that the state government had given them the land on lease and they were developing the temple and also building 'kalyan mandap' on its premises. The security around the temple premises has been beefed up following the incident and in view of the Janmashtami festival.

-PTI