No police in Osmania varsity: Andhra minister

HYDERABAD - Even as Telangana leaders across the political spectrum continue to demand the withdrawal of police forces from the Osmania University here, Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy Sunday claimed that no police or central paramilitary forces were deployed on the campus.

She told reporters that only local policemen were deployed at the police station located in the campus.

After a meeting with Congress MPs and state legislators from Telangana in the presence of Director General of Police Aravinda Rao, Hyderabad Police Commissioner A.K. Khan and university vice chancellor Tirupati Rao, she said she has cleared all apprehensions of the public representatives about the situation on the campus.

“Some people spread rumours that something is happening in the university and students are in danger,” she said and claimed that the situation in the university and rest of the state was peaceful.

The fact-finding panel of state human rights commission and university peace committee will meet again Monday with the vice chancellor and police officials.

The director general of police said forces were deployed outside the campus and there were also no restrictions on the movement of the students.

“The police are restricting movement of only groups of students in view of law and order situation,” he said.

Hyderabad police commissioner A.K. Khan said outsiders were also involved in the incidents in the campus.

A delegation of Congress MPs and legislators met the home minister and urged her to withdraw the forces and lift media curbs.

Senior police officials have called a meeting with representatives of journalists’ bodies later Sunday to discuss to what extent information can be provided to the media.

Earlier, member of parliament Manda Jagannatham said the home minister assured them that she would speak to police officials about their demand for withdrawal of forces from the campus.

Clashes between students and police rocked the campus since Thursday when the Srikrishna committee’s report was made public. Leaders of the Osmania University Joint Action Committee alleged that police were committing excesses and trying to suppress the peaceful agitation.

The police, however, claimed that it was trying to prevent students from coming out of the campus as this could disturb peace.

Meanwhile, university students staged protest outside NTR Trust Bhavan, the headquarters of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), demanding the party to make its stand clear on Telangana.

The leaders and activists of BJP staged road blockade on Hanamkonda-Karimnagar road in Warangal district demanding withdrawal of forces from university campus and lifting of media curbs.