Telangana police arrested Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) deputy floor leader T Harish Rao and other senior party leaders while they were en route to Parigi town to express solidarity with farmers protesting against land acquisition for a proposed industrial park.
Accompanied by former ministers P Sabitha Indra Reddy and Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Harish Rao was intercepted at Narsingi and taken into custody.
The arrested leaders were taken to Shamshabad police station and detained for a few hours before being let off.
Earlier, the police kept several BRS leaders under house arrest, including former Parigi MLA Koppula Mahesh Reddy and local leader Shubhaprad Patel.
BRS working president K T Rama Rao termed the detention of Harish Rao and others as a cowardly act, accusing the government of using police force to crush dissent.
Senior Congress MLA P Rammohan Reddy said nearly 60% of the 1200 acres of land proposed to be developed into an industrial estate was government land and only 40% of the land was being acquired from the local farmers.
