Clashes continue in Osmania University, protests rock Telangana

HYDERABAD - For the second consecutive day, clashes broke out between students and police in Osmania University campus here Friday as protests over the Srikrishna committee report rocked Telangana.

Osmania University, the nerve centre of the agitation for a separate state, was on the boil again as violence broke out during the protests by the students.

The sprawling campus turned into a battlefield as police fired pellets and tear gas shells and baton charged the students after they pelted stones on security personnel.

Osmania University Joint Action Committee (OUJAC) alleged that several students were injured in the police firing and baton charge.

With police imposing restrictions on the entry of media persons in the campus, very little information was coming out. Student leaders alleged police were indiscriminately using force near hostels.

Policemen were chasing groups of students near the B hostel and the Arts College.

The trouble broke out when students again tried to take out rallies to protest the police firing Wednesday.

Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) including Bandaru Dattatreya and dozens of lawyers of Telangana were arrested when they tried to enter the campus.

Director General of Police Aravinda Rao said the situation on the campus was tense but they were making all efforts to restore peace. He denied reports that police opened fire on the students Wednesday.

“There are different types of firing. We have used pellets and not bullets. Pellets don’t kill people but injure them. It is not firing but a crowd control method,” he said, adding 24 policemen were injured in the heavy stone pelting by students Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a day after Srikrishna committee’s report was made public, protests rocked Telangana.

Telangana leaders including legislators of main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) staged a protest at Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the state governor, condemning the alleged role of Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan in deployment of paramilitary forces in Telangana.

Police arrested the protesters led by senior TDP leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy, who demanded the central government recall the governor. The protesters also demanded withdrawal of forces and tabling of a bill in parliament for formation of Telangana state.

TDP leaders also condemned the police action in the Osmania University campus and the restrictions imposed on media coverage.

A group of lawyers and journalists from Telangana barged into a meeting of Telangana leaders of ruling Congress party at Nizam Club here. Tension prevailed in the area as the protesters entered the meeting hall and demanded that the MPs and legislators resign. They said the Congress leaders should not remain silent over the incidents in Osmania University and the attempts to gag the media.

There was heated argument between the two sides as the leaders said they would react after the meeting. The protesters then staged a sit-in outside the hall.

Shops, business establishments and educational institutes were closed in parts of Hyderabad and nine other Telangana districts Friday in response to a shutdown call to protest police firing on students at the Osmania campus.

The shutdown call was given by the OUJAC and the Telangana Joint Action Committee, comprising various groups fighting for separate state.

Shops and business establishments were also closed in some parts of Nizamabad, Warangal, Karimnagar and Medak districts while the state-owned Road Transport Corporation (RTC) stopped plying buses on some routes as a precautionary measure, officials said.

Schools, colleges and universities in the region remained closed to protest both the police action on Osmania University campus and the report of the Srikrishna committee, which strongly recommended keeping Andhra Pradesh united.

Employees of government and various state-owned companies staged lunch-hour protest demonstrations on a call given by Telangana JAC. Telangana employees of the state secretariat also staged protests.

Addressing them, Telangana JAC convener M. Kodandaram said the government should table the bill in Parliament for formation of Telangana state. He said the curbs on media were undemocratic.

Hundreds of students, lawyers and other supporters of Telangana took out rallies in Nalgonda, Medak, Warangal and other towns in the region. They set afire copies of Srikrishna committee’s report and demanded that public representatives of all parties submit their resignations to mount pressure on the central government.