Several Telangana ministers and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president B Mahesh Kumar Goud were taken into preventive custody in Hyderabad on Thursday after attempting to march towards Lok Bhavan in Somajiguda, according to a report by Deccan Chronicle. The action temporarily disrupted traffic on one of the city’s busiest stretches.
Ministers Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, D Sridhar Babu, Adluri Laxman Kumar and Vakiti Srihari were among those shifted to Panjagutta police station, the report said. The leaders were demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The leaders and party workers began the march from the statue of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Carrying party flags, they attempted to proceed towards Lok Bhavan, the Telangana Governor’s official residence and office in Somajiguda. Police stopped the march and detained the leaders after foiling their attempt to move ahead.
A large number of Congress cadres participated in the rally, creating traffic congestion for a period on the stretch between Khairatabad flyover and NTR Gardens. The corridor is a significant north-south movement route through central Hyderabad, connecting busy roads and public destinations around Khairatabad, Somajiguda and the Hussain Sagar edge.
The incident illustrates the immediate mobility pressures created when political gatherings enter high-traffic public corridors. In such situations, police restrictions, crowd movement and diverted vehicles can affect commuters beyond the site of the protest, particularly on roads with limited alternative routes and heavy peak-hour demand.
The report did not provide details of the specific grounds cited by police for the preventive custody, the duration of the detention or whether formal cases were registered. It also did not include a response from the Election Commission or Lok Bhavan to the protesters’ demand.
The leaders were taken to Panjagutta police station after the march was stopped. Further action by the police and the next steps announced by the Congress leadership were not specified in the report.
