Mild tension prevailed in Pocharam village of Medchal-Malkajgiri district after BJP MP Etala Rajender slapped a real estate broker accusing him of encroaching land belonging to the poor.

Pocharam IT Corridor police booked a case against the leader, sources from the Rachakonda police confirmed. Videos of the incident surfaced on social media and triggered mixed reactions from netizens.

Upon learning that brokers were allegedly harassing locals by encroaching on their land, Mr. Rajender accompanied by scores of party leaders, reached Pocharam village and confronted the broker. He slapped the broker and warned him of legal consequences. Minutes later, the locals and party workers also thrashed him.

“I lost my cool because the officials are not coming to the rescue of the common people. Police have lost respect for the government due to its partisan behaviour. We were forced to teach a lesson to land grabbers. My party and I will stand by the people. We will not hesitate to take law into our hands to protect their lands if the police and revenue officials do not act,” Mr.Rajender told the media later.

The MP stated that there are several colonies around the capital region where the poor and lower middle class involved in doing small jobs and petty businesses reside in small dwellings and these are sought to be usurped by real estate mafia in connivance with the officials concerned by bringing out fake documents.