Ax stump near KBR National Park in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. | Photo credit: File photo
Five volunteers protesting the felling of trees around the KBR National Park in Hyderabad were slapped by the police, according to various sections, after they were detained at the police station for several hours.
The volunteers named in the FIR were Uppu Ashok, Rasamsetti Durga Prasad, Bukya Venkatesh, Mallangi Vijay Sai Reddy and Kurwa Vijay.
According to sources, several volunteers who saw the tree felling on Wednesday asked the workers involved to stop, saying that tree felling was illegal. When the workers did not give up, they formed a human chain around the tree and stopped work for some time.
“Around 3 am, the volunteers dispersed and headed to their homes. At that time, Durga Prasad, who was crossing the road, was hit by the police after the tree felling workers identified him and took him to the police station,” said a volunteer.
After this news spread, four other people who went to the police station in the morning to help the detainee were also detained.
“Detective Inspector behaved very rudely with us. He said he will arrest all of us and send us to jail. When I asked him to inform us about the offence, he said he is not bound to inform us. Later we came to know that we were accused of using weapons and demanding money from a tree cutter,” Mr Vijay Sai Reddy, who spoke to the station media, said after the release.
However, the FIR invoked Sections 126(2), 324(4), 351(2) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deal with unlawful restraint, aggravated mischief causing damage to property and criminal intimidation.
“On Sunday, the police objected to the drone I was using to shoot the video and confiscated it. Moreover, I was slapped for flying the drone,” he said. Also on Monday, when a group of 15 volunteers gathered inside the park to discuss the issue, says Mr. Vijay Sai Reddy, a huge contingent of policemen surrounded them and asked them to leave the place, saying it was a “VIP” zone.
A diverse group of residents and environmental activists opposed the felling of trees around the national park to make way for seven flyovers and seven underpasses as part of an innovative and transformative infrastructure project for the city of Hyderabad.
While the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation maintains that the trees in the ecological zone (ESZ) of the park are not affected, the Supreme Court is already hearing a case challenging the ESZ fixed without public hearing. Activists say work started before the court cleared the stay on the project. Several protests under the banner of “Save KBR Park” were held near the park, including candlelight vigils and human chains around the park.
Published – 13 May 2026 11:52 IST
