A home guard was injured and several vehicles damaged after two groups clashed and resorted to stone pelting at Gudimalkapur around midnight on Saturday following suspicion over the transportation of cattle. No case was booked in this matter as of Sunday night 9 p.m., confirmed a senior officer.

The incident began at around Saturday midnight when members of a local cow vigilante group intercepted a truck, allegedly assuming it was transporting cattle. Police later found that the vehicle was carrying plywood sheets.

According to police, the driver was allegedly pulled out of the vehicle and assaulted by the group. Local youths who noticed the assault gathered at the spot, leading to a confrontation between the two sides.

The altercation soon escalated into stone pelting, during which a home guard sustained injuries while several parked vehicles outside function halls along Gudimalkapur Road were damaged.

Police personnel who rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control also came under attack during the violence. As tensions escalated, police resorted to mild lathi charge to disperse the crowd and prevent the unrest from spreading further.

Additional forces were rushed to the area while senior officers reached the spot and tightened security arrangements.

The clash briefly disrupted traffic movement on the busy Mehdipatnam-Attapur stretch before normal flow was restored.

Following the incident, AIMIM Nampally MLA Majid Hussain Meraj staged a sit-in protest outside the office of the DCP, Golconda, demanding action against those responsible for assaulting the driver and cleaner and damaging the vehicle.

Joint Commissioner of Police Tafseer Iqubal later reached the spot, spoke with the MLA and assured a thorough investigation into the incident. Police were examining CCTV footage and other evidence to identify those involved in the violence. A case is likely to be booked in this matter.