Osmania University under police siege, students arrested

Hyderabad: Dozens of students were arrested and the Osmania University was under siege Monday as police attempted to foil the indefinite fast by students demanding separate statehood for Telengana.

Students coming to Hyderabad from various parts of Telangana were nabbed. Police have since Sunday night also arrested students, including some leaders of the Osmania University Joint Action Committee (OU JAC), on the campus and from hostels, officials said.

Preventive arrests of students were also made in Warangal, Karimnagar and other towns to stop them from proceeding to Hyderabad.

OU JAC leaders alleged that police were resorting to indiscriminate arrests and said they were determined to go ahead with the protest.

The sprawling university campus was under siege by the police and central paramilitary forces, who have sealed all the routes leading towards the campus, to scuttle OU JAC plans to launch the indefinite fast.

Tension prevailed in the campus and surrounding areas as police erected barricades and carried out out checks of vehicles.

OU JAC plans to launch the mass fast with 10,000 students. The political JAC and various groups fighting for a separate state have declared their support to the fast.

However, police commissioner A.K. Khan said there was no permission for the programme. He also banned entry of outsiders into the campus on the ground that there are orders from the Supreme Court. The police chief also pointed out that prohibitory orders banning assembly of five or more people are also in force in the city.

The OU JAC also plans to take out rallies to Raj Bhavan and state assembly to demand the governor and the speaker to accept resignations of ministers and legislators from the region.

Osmania University is the nerve centre of the Telangana agitation and has witnessed clashes between students and police since the latest phase of the agitation began earlier this month.

 

 Tweet

Home | Top of the Page

Top Stories

35 dead, 150 injured in train disaster in Uttar Pradesh

At least 35 people were killed and more than 150 injured Sunday when 14 coaches of the Kalka-bound Kalka Mail ran off the rails in Uttar Pradesh, leaving many passengers  »

Train derailment: Passengers' kin unhappy with helpline

Several passengers injured as Kalka-Howrah Express derail

  Most Read

Britain: Anti-extremism projects vs State funded Muslim schools

Millions of pounds have been wasted on anti-extremism projects that did not produce any security benefits. But we can afford to throw money at bankers. I think we should axe funding to  »

Poverty Census: Relevance and Futility

The Indian government’s nod to carry out the below poverty line (BPL) census and enumeration of castes for determining the socio-economic backwardness of different sections, castes and religious groups in India is redoubtable. However, the timing of the census and preparedness of various stakeholder  »

  News Pick

Crossing caste lines, they cast off surnames

Upon entering the cold room and extending the formal niceties, Reshma, 30, introduces herself to her prospective employer. A pregnant pause and a puzzled look later she's asked the indispensable question - 'Reshma  »

Dropping names: Intellectuals divided on renaming West Bengal

Will it be 'Bongo' or 'Bangla' or 'Bongodesh'? West Bengal is getting the blues over a proposed re-naming of the state as new Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee pushes for 'poriborton'   »

Hajj committee's IAS coaching cell invites applications for new batch

The IAS & Allied Services coaching and guidance cell at the Hajj Committee of India, Mumbai is inviting applications for the new batch starting  »

Chennai boy's murder cracked: Retired army officer held

A week after a 13-year-old boy was killed in a military residential campus here, a 50-year-old retired army officer was arrested Sunday for the crime after he confessed that he was irritated by the boy's trespassing, police said.  »

Picture of the Day

Defence Minister of Mozambique Filipe Jacinto Nyusi laying wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti, in New Delhi on June 28, 2011.

(Photo: Fulchand)