Overview
- A video that circulated after a June 27 confrontation at Bharat Chandra High School in Armoor shows the principal being manhandled by a group led by BJP town president Mandula Balu, and police registered an FIR against Balu and about 20 others for trespass, assault and related offences.
- Armoor police later arrested Mandula Balu on June 29 and a separate FIR names the school correspondent, principal and the teacher under Section 196(1)(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for allegedly promoting enmity between groups.
- A joint inquiry by revenue, education and police officials found that a teacher appointed as a Hindi instructor had taught Urdu to primary pupils without formal authorization and that Urdu notes were reportedly torn out after parents objected.
- Telangana police issued takedown notices to multiple X users who shared the assault video, citing risks to public order, while opposition leaders and minority groups demanded suspensions of officers seen in the footage and called for a bandh in Nizamabad.
- The dispute exposes tensions over language and schooling in Telangana where Urdu is an officially recognised second language but schools must follow prescribed syllabi and obtain permissions, and the case could prompt administrative penalties, criminal probes and scrutiny of local policing.