All of a sudden, communal riot erupted in normally peaceful Sangareddy town in close proximity to Hyderabad city on the intervening night of Thursday-Friday. Two groups of rioters pelted stones at each other and torched shops and houses, causing extensive damage. Twenty persons including some policemen were injured in the violence but there were no deaths. Property worth about Rs 1.3 crore is said to have been destroyed in the rioting.

The violence broke out all of a sudden around midnight Thursday and went on till the wee hours of Friday. It all began around 11 pm Thursday night after a local BJP leader Pawan Kumar posted some mischievous remarks about the Prophet on Facebook on Thursday. Word spread and some members of a minority community staged a dharna in the town, They demanded the arrest of Kumar. While they were being pacified, another group gathered at the old bus stand in Sangareddy and began pelting stones at shops and vehicles. They tore flexi banners and attacked the vehicle of a former MLA. This incited rioting by people of another community near the old bus stand.

Security has been beefed up across the state. Section 144 has been imposed in the town after a spell of curfew. Police are in a high state of alert with only two days to go to Sri Rama Navami festival. Medak Collector S Suresh Kumar along with IGP (west) Rajiv Ratan, DIG N Sanjay and SP P J Victor visited the riot-hit areas. Learning of their visit, a group of rioters rained stones on their convoy near the Government Girls High School, forcing the police to use tear gas and batons again. A case has been registered against the Facebook account holder under Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code. He has not been arrested so far.

Later Friday, deputy chief minister C Damodara Rajanarasimha, home minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy and major industries minister J Geeta Reddy visited the spot and promised action against the police officials who had failed to act. They promised to extend necessary help to the victims. The home minister said he suspected that the rioting was deliberately incited.