Osmania University students meet Srikrishna panel members

A group of students from the Osmania University here, who had been in the forefront of the recent pro-Telangana agitation, met the members of the Srikrishna Committee on Tuesday.

The students, part of the OU Joint Action Committee (JAC), put forward their demand for statehood to Telangana before the members of the Centre-appointed panel.

“We will be happy if separate statehood is achieved through Srikrishna Committee. Of course, we will continue our democratic and peaceful fight till the goal is achieved,” Manavata Roy, a students’ leader, told reporters after meeting with the panel.

The father of a youth who committed suicide for separate Telangana accompanied the team of students. “The panel members asked us why my son Srikantachary committed suicide. I told them he wanted to give a push to the Telangana agitation by sacrificing his life,” Venkatachary said.

A group fighting for united Andhra Pradesh also met the committee members who are on a three-day visit to the city since Monday.

Telangana Gazetted Officers Association, who claim that they are being discriminated against in promotions, too met the members of the committee.

The five-member panel, headed by Justice B.N. Srikrishna, was formed in February after months of agitation for a separate Telangana state.

6 cops indicted for OU violence

The Crime Investigation Department that probed the alleged police excesses on journalists and students in the Osmania University campus during the recent pro-Telangana agitation, has found fault with six police officers, including an assistant commissioner of police.

The state government had ordered the CID probe following all-round condemnation of the brutal way in which the police unleashed violence on the agitating students and the journalists covering the developments.

Vehicles and cameras were damaged in the attack. A policeman was in fact caught on camera setting a two-wheeler on fire and later urinating on it.

Sources said the CID team headed by additional director-general of police, Mr A. Sivanarayana, had blamed the Kacheguda assistant commissioner of police, Mr K. Ramachandran, the OU inspector, Mr B. Anjaiah, and four other low-ranking personnel for the violence.

The CID, however, let off senior police officials of DIG and SP rank, who were in full control of the situation that day and has put the whole blame on the lower rung personnel.

In its report, the CID also highlighted lack of coordination between the state police and paramilitary forces that were in action on the OU campus.

Mr Ramachandran was not available for comment, while Mr Anjaiah merely said, “As the station house officer, I was on the spot that day.”

The home minister, Ms P. Sabita Indra Reddy, said she had not yet gone through the report. “Based on the directions from the government, action will be taken against those found guilty,” said the director general of police, Mr R.R. Girish Kumar, who refused to divulge more details of the report.

The Press Council of India had appointed a three-member committee to probe the police excesses on mediapersons. This committee will also publish its report on Wednesday.

Osmania.T-suicide victim allowed midnight funeral procession

Meegada Sai Kumar, a second year B-tech student of Osmania University, committed suicide in protest against the delay in creation of a separate Telangana.

He is the third student to have committed suicide over the Telangana cause in the OU campus.

The B-Tech student ended his life by hanging from a ceiling fan of his hostel using a clothesline.

Sai Kumar, a meritorious student from Kapugalla village in Kodada mandal of Nalgonda district and active member of the ABVP, also wrote a note saying that he was sacrificing his life for the cause of Telangana.

“This is my final farewell to four crore Telangana people,” the note retrieved by his friends read. “I am sacrificing my life for Telangana. Political leaders are traitors and students should not believe them. Students should lead the moment and achieve separate Telangana state.”

He mentioned that his last wish was that his funeral procession should be taken to the Assembly.

His father, Mr M. Lingayya, a farmer, is an active supporter of the CPI(M). Sai Kumar lost his mother in his childhood and had been staying with his grandmother in Kodada. “My son has committed suicide because of the Telangana issue,” Mr Lingayya said. “The government should fulfil his last wish.”

Later, the funeral procession of M. Sai Kumar, began at 11 pm on Tuesday to the Gun Park, under orders of the State Human Rights Commission.

The commission earlier in the evening directed that the procession should start at 11 pm and should conclude by 3.30 am (pre-dawn of Wednesday) after reaching Gunpark, the SHRC ordered while admitting a petition by students.

Kumar was a brilliant student with 70 per cent of marks in B. Tech first year,” said Madhusudhan, his friend.

Sai Kumar stayed in Room No. 108 of mini technology block of Gouthami E2 Block in Osmania University. His roommate was one Amarender.

On Tuesday, Sai Kumar went to college and attended the first period till 9.50 am and then returned to the hostel. When his roommate came by after 11 am, he noticed that the room was locked from inside.

When the door was not opened even after repeated knocks, Amarender broke the window and peeped inside but couldn’t see anything because the lights were not on.

At about 11.20 am, a few students forced open the door and found Sai Kumar hanging from a ceiling fan.

Friends tried to shift him to a nearby hospital on a motorcycle. However, the police stopped the vehicle and shifted Sai Kumar in a 108 ambulance to Gandhi hospital, but he died on the way.

“He recently joined the JAC formed by the engineering department in Osmania University,” said Madhusudhan. “He actively participated in the protests for separate Telangana and Vidyarthi Garjana.”

Angry OU students thronged Gandhi Hospital and demanded that the body be taken in a procession to the Assembly.

“We will not allow the post mortem to take place till his last wish is fulfilled,” said M. Krishank, OU student leader.

In the afternoon, the students tried to take the body out of the hospital and police resorted to a mild lathicharge to disperse them.

But students took the body from the stretcher, placed it on the ground and started shouting “Jai Telangana”.

Police later closed the main gate of Gandhi Hospital, causing much trouble to regular patients and their relatives.

Student's "suicide" leads to tension

Tension escalated at the Osmania University and surrounding areas on Tuesday, after an engineering student hanged himself in his hostel room demanding the formation of a separate Telangana State.

A student of College of Technology on Osmania University campus ended his life on Tuesday rekindling pro-Telangana passions on the campus on Tuesday. Tension gripped the Gandhi hospital where autopsy was to be held, when the police caned students who tried to take out the body in a procession to the university.

Twenty-year-old Meegada Sai Kumar, in a suicide note purportedly written by him, stated that he was sacrificing his life for Telangana. “Without reposing the trust in politicians, the youth should achieve Telangana. Take out my funeral procession up to the Assembly,” the note said.

A second year student of Chemical Engineering branch, Kumar is from Kapugal village in Kodad mandal of Nalgonda. He told his roommate in the morning that he would not attend classes since he was going home for the Ugadi festival.

Doors of his room no. 108 were bolted from inside when his classmates returned. “We forcibly opened the doors and saw him hanging from the ceiling,” Amarender, his roommate, told reporters.

They rushed him to the Gandhi hospital believing he was still alive. But the doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. As the news spread, emotionally charged students began to assemble in large numbers at his hostel and Arts College. Anticipating trouble, police rushed additional forces, including contingents of para-military units, to the campus sealing the Tarnaka and NCC gate entry points.

They did not allow students to come out of the campus, but the latter managed to reach the hospital through other routes. Tension escalated as students did not allow shifting of the body to the morgue for post-mortem.

The students argued that they should be allowed to take the body to Gun Park in Secunderabad and then to the campus. Even as police officers were holding discussions with some student leaders, a group attempted to take the body to the main road. Police had to use force to disperse them.

Tension escalates in Hyderabad as student ends life for Telangana

Tension escalated at the Osmania University and surrounding areas on Tuesday, after an engineering student hanged himself in his hostel room demanding the formation of a separate Telangana State.

Police said Saikumar Meegada, a second year student of Chemical Engineering and a boarder of the Technology hostel was found hanging by his room mate Amarendar. Saikumar was rushed to Gandhi Hospital, but was declared dead.

As news of the suicide spread, hundreds of students rushed to Gandhi Hospital and were arguing with the police insisting that they would take his body to the Osmania Campus.

Anticipating outbreak of violence, additional forces were being rushed to Osmania University campus and Gandhi Hospital.

Saikumar, who hails from Kapugal village in the neighbouring Nalgonda district is the son of a farmer and earns his pocket money by giving home tuitions. On Tuesday, he told his roommate that he would go home for Ugadi.

Amarendar, the room mate who returned to the hostel in the morning, found that the room was locked from inside and broke it open to find him hanging. Other hostellers who lowered him found him breathing and rushed him to Hospital.

In a suicide note purportedly written by him, Saikumar maintained that he was sacrificing his life for the cause of four crore people of Telangana. He maintained that the youth should take lead for the cause of Telangana rather than leaving it in the hands of politicians.

Situation on the University campus had returned to near normal for the last one week, with the students taking the examinations.

Osmania exams begin today

The Osmania University is all set to conduct the semester exams on Wednesday. After postponing the first and third semester examinations for a number of times during the last three months, the university has made all the arrangements for the smooth conduct of the examinations.

More than 40,000 students of the university will take the exams, scheduled to continue till the second week of this month. With peace returning to the campus, OU is confident that the exams will be held as per the schedule.

“We have made arrangements for the smooth conduct of the exams and all students are preparing to take the exams. With these exams, students will complete their academic year in time,” said Prof Sudarshan Rao, principal, OU Arts College.

OU officials who are “concerned” about the dent in the image of the university are trying to draft a plan of action to restore its image once these exams are completed.

“We have finished 35 per cent of the syllabus in the current semester also. We will finish the rest of the syllabus in the next one-and-a-half month,” Prof. Rao added.

The university, meanwhile, appointed ‘Student welfare committees’ in all the departments with professors, police officials and students as members to restore peace, resolve issues and act as mediators between the university, students and the police department.

Explain deployment of Greyhounds in OU: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday sought an explanation from the Andhra Pradesh government as to why it had deployed the elite anti-Naxalite force Greyhounds to quell the students’ unrest in Osmania University, the hotbed of Telangana statehood agitation.

A bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and Asok Kumar Ganguly also constituted a three-member committee comprising the State Home Secretary, Hyderabad police commissioner and the vice chancellor of the University to review on a day-to-day basis the atmosphere in and around the campus.

The apex court wanted to know whether such anti-Naxalite force had ever been deployed to quell public rallies or meetings organised by various political parties.

The apex court while permitting the state to deploy civilian police at the campus said the committee would decide if and when there is a need for deploying Central paramilitary forces.

The court directed the State government to file its response in an affidavit and posted the matter for further hearing to March 19.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Anita and other university students who had challenged government’s decision before the High Court, had alleged over 3,000 Central paramilitary personnel were deployed there.

They alleged that they had brutally beaten up students, molested girls, assaulted journalists and damaged their cameras or video clippings.

However, senior counsel Harish Salve, representing State government in the matter, tried to justify deployment of Central forces on the ground that there were intelligence inputs to suggest that Maoists have infiltrated the University campus to instigate large scale violence on the separate state row.

The apex court, during last hearing on February 23 had asked the State government to furnish proof of “secret intelligence inputs” to prove that Maoists have infiltrated into Osmania University.

A division bench of the High Court had on February 16 upheld the directions of a single judge to move out the Rapid Action Force and CRPF personnel from Osmania University campus.

The division bench had said the single judge was right in his analysis that the Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed in the university campus without any proper study of the prevailing situation.

The State government had assailed the February 16 order, saying the High Court cannot order the removal of paramilitary forces from the campus.

Assembly asks Telangana activists not to resort to suicides

The Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday appealed to students and other Telangana agitators not to resort to extreme steps like suicide as their lives were very valuable.

Making an appeal on the floor of the Assembly, Chief Minister K. Rosaiah said students had a lot of future ahead of them and “your lives are very valuable.”

“Suicides are not desirable. There is nothing one achieves by ending life. I earnestly appeal to students and youths not to resort to suicides,” the Chief Minister said.

His appeal came after the Assembly was adjourned three times this morning following an uproar by the Telangana TDP MLAs on the issue of police lathicharge on pro-Telangana students in the Osmania University campus.

He welcomed the statement of Osmania University Students’ Joint Action Committee that henceforth there would be no suicides, bandhs and violence by students.

“It gives us a lot of relief,” Mr. Rosaiah remarked.

The Chief Minister said the government has been repeatedly instructing the police personnel to observe utmost restraint.

“Sometimes, however, the police say they are acting in self-defence. But still I once again direct them to be restrained,” he said.

Court wants proof of Maoists’ presence in varsity

With the Andhra Pradesh government asserting that Maoists had infiltrated the Osmania University campus as students, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the State to produce reported intelligence inputs to support the claim.

Senior counsel Harish Salve submitted before a Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly that Maoists had infiltrated the campus and read out statements of some Maoist leaders to drive home the point that the agitation was being spearheaded by naxalites.

Justice Singhvi intervened and said: “Rapid Action Force entering the campus in the garb of dealing with anti-social elements is certainly a serious matter. Where is the evidence of infiltration inside the campus? What is the proof available with the government? We would like to have it.”

Mr. Salve replied: “There are intelligence inputs available, but we can’t make it public. But certainly we can make it available to the court.”

Justice Singhvi said: “We can understand the deployment of police force, but for the deployment of RAF or paramilitary forces, we would like to see the secret intelligence inputs you have. Produce them.”

Earlier, Mr. Salve submitted that the government never interfered in meetings convened by students. He said that on certain occasions fiery speeches were made by speakers, declaring that their only aim was to pull down the edifice of the State government.

Justice Ganguly said: “In a democracy that is the view of the speakers.”

Justice Singhvi added: “You can’t change the culture of human beings. This is part of the freedom of speech and expression. We understand that the division is vertical whether it is among professors, students, lawyers or others.”

“Emotive issue”

Counsel Prashant Bhushan and Ramakrishna Reddy, appearing for the respondents, submitted that over 200 persons committed suicide since the agitation began. As it was an emotive issue, they said, it should be tackled politically and not as a mere law and order problem. Justice Singhvi said: “Only ordinary people commit suicide in such agitations.”

Denying Maoist infiltration, Mr. Reddy traced the origin of the Telangana struggle to 1949 and, said some of the students who participated in the 1969 agitation might have become Maoist leaders and made some statements. This would not mean that there was Maoist infiltration and that the RAF could enter the campus under the garb of Maoist infiltration, he added.

The Bench listed the case for further hearing to February 25.

No Maoists in Osmania University : Tirupati Rao

The vice chancellor of Osmania University T Tirupati Rao on Sunday asserted that Maoists are not present on its campus. Addressing the media after a meeting of the peace committee on the campus, Tirupati Rao said that "the university authorities including myself have no information about the presence of Maoists". He added: "Most of those who live in our hostels are our students. Even there are not many non-boarders on the campus."

The vice chancellor's new revelations fly in the face of the claims by the police and the government that Maoists have infiltrated the OU campus. This was the grounds on which a large police force including men from the Rapid Action Force and the anti-naxal Greyhounds had been deployed on the campus. This was also the basis on which the police tried to evict boarders from the campus on Sunday before the last.

The state government has moved the Supreme Court — even after a single judge and a division bench asked the police to move out of the campus — specifically on the apprehension of Maoist presence. Striking a sympathetic note, the vice chancellor said that "non-boarders are relatives of students who have come from very poor and rural backgrounds. They don't live on the campus to indulge in any violence". He, however, hastened to add that the administration was planning to speak to hostel students and the non-borders would be asked to leave.

But Praveen Kumar, joint commissioner of police (special branch) who is also a member of the peace committee said that "it is too early to come to a conclusion on the presence of Maoists on campus". Kumar, however, maintained that his force will not withdraw from the campus. "The police are not against the democratic right of students to protest. We will, however, stop them if they try to take to the streets as there is a chance of it turning out to be a law and order problem," Kumar said.

But the vice chancellor said that "the police will enter the campus only when called". "If we need their help, we will request them to take charge on campus. But police will not enter the campus without my permission," said Rao.

The vice chancellor also asked the students not to interrupt the academic year any further. "The students should realise that they might lose an academic year if they continue boycotting examinations," said the vice chancellor. The vice chancellor said that his priority, however, is to maintain peace on campus. "Faculty members and others from the administrative team will interact with the students to maintain peace on campus," the VC said.

In the peace meeting which was attended by members of the state police, faculty and students, a review of all instances of violence on OU campus was done. Meanwhile, OU-JAC representatives welcomed the statement of the vice chancellor which they said exposed the state government's malicious propaganda.

Students, police clash on Osmania campus

The situation in the State capital turned volatile after a pro-Telangana activist immolated himself in full public view near the Osmania University campus after police foiled the attempts of agitating students to march to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Saturday morning.

The self-immolation bid sparked confrontations between the students and the police at several places throughout the day. See-saw battles and stone-pelting continued till late in the evening on the University campus – the nerve centre of the pro-Telangana stir.

In critical condition

The grievously burnt youngster, identified as Siripuram Yadagiri (19) of Maheshwaram mandal in Rangareddy district, was rushed to the Apollo Hospital near DRDL. His condition was stated to be critical.

Incensed students engaged the police in pitched battles as they spilled out onto the Tarnaka-Habsiguda road by evening. They ignored tear gas shells and even stun grenades while hurling stones on police forces at Ground ‘A’ behind the RTC hospital near Tarnaka. Several policemen were injured in the stone-pelting.

Authorities had deployed 30,000 policemen for security arrangements in view of the students’ call to lay siege to the Assembly and virtually took control of central Hyderabad. The innumerable road blockades set up by the police and restrictions on the movement of people led to a curfew-like situation.

Surprise act

The students, who tried to take out a procession, jostled with policemen who formed several layers of human chain to prevent them from proceeding ahead. The situation appeared to be normal as the Assembly adjourned around 1 p.m. and agitators returned to the campus.

However, taking everyone by surprise, Yadagiri who was watching the police-student confrontation, doused himself with kerosene or petrol, set fire to himself and ran towards the policemen around 1.40 p.m.

Campus inflamed

As shocked policemen rushed towards him, Yadagiri, who was engulfed in flames, ran for about 50 metres. Policemen used their bamboo body vests to put out the flames.

The immolation bid inflamed the campus and thousands of students began fighting pitched battles with the police.

Elsewhere, students attempted to break through police cordons to reach the Assembly at PG Colleges in Secunderabad and Saifabad and at Nizam College hostel in Basheerbagh forcing police to use their canes repeatedly.

In the Assembly, Chief Minister K. Rosaiah presented a Rs. 1.13 lakh crore annual budget for 2010-11, a marginal increase over last year’s outlay.

The budget was tax-free since the government had raised additional revenue of nearly Rs. 6,000 crore through pre-budget imposts.

Referring to the turbulence in the State, the Chief Minister said Andhra Pradesh would have registered a higher growth rate but for the disturbances.

He said he had kept in mind the interests of all regions while formulating the budget proposals.

Congress finally bids goodbye to TJAC

The Congress legislators have finally said goodbye to the Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprising TDP, TRS, PRP, BJP and people’s organisations.They have formed what will be known as Telangana Congress Action Committee (TCAC) to bring pressure on the party leadership to deliver Telangana by staying as legislators.They appealed to the agitating Telangana students to withdraw their tomorrow’s `Chalo Assembly’ programme and to understand the Congress party’s commitment to the cause.Several Telangana Congress public representatives including MPs, MLCs, MLAs met at the Assembly committee hall here and adopted six resolutions including breaking away from the TJAC. The other resolutions adopted at the meeting are Seeking suspension of Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal for his remarks on Telangana, appointment of a women officer to probe police attack on girl students in Osmania University campus, appeal to students to withdraw `Chalo Assembly’ programme and constitution of Telangana Congress Action Committee.The meeting urged the Centre to ask Justice BN Srikrishna Committee to complete its work by September 30, (as against December 31) and that it should take the views of people of Telangana region only and inclusion of the word Telangana in the terms of reference in pursuance of the statement made by the Centre on December 9,2009.The members said they were ready to make any sacrifice for Telangana cause. As of now, they have decided not to resign so that they could fight for Telangana inside the Assembly and Parliament.Briefing the resolutions of the meeting to mediapersons later, former minister K Jana Reddy urged the students not to resort to violence but conduct meetings peacefully. He exuded confidence that the Centre would introduce a Bill in Parliament for Telangana after getting the Srikrishna Committee report.Ministers DK Aruna, Sunitha Laxma Reddy, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, D Sridhar Babu, P Sudershan Reddy, MPs Manda Jagannadham, Ponnam Prabhakar, Gutha Sukhender Reddy, MLCs KR Amos, K Yadava Reddy, P Sudhakar Reddy, MLAs B Saraiah, P Narsa Reddy and others attended the meeting.

Students break barricades to reach Assembly, 2km around Assembly closed for traffic movement

Students of the Chalo Assembly rally are successfully breaking the barricades laid all over the city. Police have stopped all traffic about 2km around the Legislative Assembly.

Apparently students are trying to bribe the policemen to let them proceed. At the Osmania University campus, forces are trying hard to rein in the students.

About 40,000 people are reported to have reached Hyderabad for the rally. A total of 20,000 police personnel have been deployed all over town, anticipating anti-social elements in the Chalo Assembly rally.

Flyovers have been blocked and a heavy police bandobast is preventing traffic from moving freely. An aerial survey is also going on over the Assembly.

Youth attempts self-immolation at OU campus

Tension escalated on the Osmania University campus after a youngster set himself ablaze when the police foiled attempts of the students to take out a rally to the State Assembly on Saturday afternoon.

The student, later identified as S. Yadagiri, (19) has suffered nearly 70 per cent burns. His condition is critical.

Yadagiri, who set himself ablaze close to Café Coffee Day near the NCC gate on the Western side of the Osmania University, rushed towards the policemen present at the gate. Alarmed policemen doused the fire and shifted him to a hospital in an ambulance.

The self-immolation comes in the backdrop of the police foiling the students’ attempts to take out a rally to the assembly.

As the news of self-immolation spread, students gathered again at the NCC gate and hurled stones at the police. DIG Charu Sinha was injured in the stone pelting.

Yadagiri has been shifted to the Gandhi Hospital where his condition is stated to be critical.

He was carrying a bag in which police found his certificates, photographs with several politicians and a suicide note purportedly written by him.

In the handwritten letter, Yadagiri maintained that he was an orphan and had studied in Victoria Memorial Home in Saroornagar till class X. He stated that the Government was unresponsive to the aspirations of the people and that a separate Telangana should be formed immediately.

Stating that he did not see any possibility of getting a job, Yadagiri wrote that he was doing his bit for the cause of a separate Telangana by sacrificing himself.

Massive traffic jams in Hyderabad

The State capital witnessed an unprecedented traffic grid lock in major parts of the city, especially those on the southern and western parts after the police imposed traffic restrictions on a massive scale to prevent the pro-Telangana students from carrying out their threat of laying siege to the State Assembly on Saturday.

Osmania University campus, the nerve centre of agitation for bifurcation of state remained peaceful, as massive contingents of police kept a close watch on a gathering of about 500 students. By 10.30 p.m. the assemblage of students were moving towards the NCC gate of the University, apparently in a bid to take out a rally to the Assembly.

However, police are determined to take them into custody, if the students try to cross the university gate.

Meanwhile, the Government has assured a delegation of the journalists that cases registered against media personnel in Osmania University police station would be withdrawn. Following this assurance from the Chief Minister, K. Rosaiah, journalists called off their boycott of the Budget session. The State budget will be presented at 12.45 p.m. today.

The never-seen-before traffic diversions, though publicised widely led to chaotic traffic conditions, as fuming motorists argued with policemen. A massive traffic jam was reported from Bazarghat, Vijayanagar colony, Nampally, Mehdipatnam localities situated on Western parts of the city. It is bumper to bumper traffic moving sluggishly in Southern parts of the city.

Though the police had cautioned people not to venture out on Saturday in view of expected traffic jams, many could not understand why roads leading to hospitals were blocked. The road leading to Gandhi Hospital, one of the biggest Government hospices in the State was blocked from Chilkalguda cross cross roads leading to wide spread resentment.

Doctors working in the hospital and patients intending to go to Gandhi Hospital were put to inconvenience and the policemen manning the barricades chose not to listen to the pleas of people going to hospitals. At Chapel Road angry motorists began abusing policemen for not allowing an ambulance carrying a patient to move into barricaded area. As people began gathering, a policeman quickly pulled out the barricade to allow the ambulance to move through.

Reports of siren-wailing Ambulances being caught in traffic jams were received from several areas. At Goshamahal cross roads, a woman doctor working in Osmania General Hospital was seen pleading and arguing with policemen to allow her to reach hospital. The policemen told her sternly that she would not be allowed because of orders from ‘higher ups’. The flustered woman doctor, who refused to be identified, almost broke into tears.

OU VC’s car stoned: Tension escalates on OU campus

Students hurled stones on the car of the Osmania University Vice-Chancellor Prof. T. Tirupathi Rao, damaging the windscreen, even as they raced towards the NCC gate on Western side.

A large group of students were jostling with policemen at the gate disregarding the repeated announcements of policemen to disperse peacefully.

Similar attempts to break through the police cordons and march to the Assembly were foiled at City College in old city, Nizam College near Basheerbagh.

PTI Adds

Intensifying their agitation for a separate Telangana state, hundreds of students defied a police warning and took out a march to the state Assembly even as some activists pelted stones at the car of Osmania University Vice Chancellor here today.

Ahead of the budget presentation in the Assembly, students took out a rally from the OU campus to lay siege to the Assembly demanding resignations of all elected representatives of the region to press for a separate Telangana state.

The call was given by the Telangana Students Joint Action Committee and Osmania University Students Joint Action Committee.

However, the police, which declared the rally as “illegal”, prevented the students on Shivam Road near Vidyanagar after which they indulged in heated arguments with the police personnel.

In another incident, pro-Telangana activists pelted stones at OU Vice—Chancellor T Tirupati Rao’s car in the campus damaging its window panes. Rao was not in the vehicle.

The OU campus has been the nerve centre of the agitation for a separate Telangana state and has witnessed a series of violent incidents with students and police clashing against each other.

Over 20,000 police forces including several battalions of Rapid Action Force and Andhra Pradesh Special Police are keeping a close vigil on the roads leading to the Assembly in view of the students’ rally.

Supreme Court stays withdrawal of forces from Osmania University campus

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed till February 23 the Andhra Pradesh High Court order directing withdrawal of Central paramilitary forces from Osmania University campus, the hotbed of the Telangana agitation.

A bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and T.S. Thakur, however, directed the state Home Secretary to ensure that the paramilitary forces are not allowed to misbehave in any manner with the students at the campus.

The apex court said the paramilitary forces shall operate strictly under the personal supervision of the Home Secretary.

The apex court passed the order on an appeal filed by the Andhra Pradesh government, challenging the High Court’s direction to withdraw the paramilitary forces from the campus.

The State government has also alleged that they strongly suspect that Maoists have infiltrated the movement and perhaps are inside the campus among the students.

However, this allegation was rebutted by Counsel Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the students.

Police molested Osmania University students: Congress MPs

Congress MPs from Telangana region on Thursday alleged that police entered the girls’ hostel of Osmania University in Hyderabad and molested some of the students. They appealed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to direct the Andhra Pradesh Government to take action against those involved.

The MPs, who met here at the Andhra Bhawan, also dashed off a letter to Ms. Gandhi alleging that Andhra Pradesh police were “committing excesses against students in the Osmania and Kaktiya Universities”.

“Some 2,000 police personnel entered the University campus in Hyderabad on Monday and lathicharged the students who were protesting peacefully. The police dragged the students and beat them up. They even entered girls’ hostel and switched off the lights and molested some of them.”

“We strongly condemn these incidents,” Nizamabad MP Madhu Goud Yaskhi and Pedapalli MP G Vivekanand told reporters here.

Mr. Vivekanand said they have requested Ms. Gandhi to “direct the Chief Minister to transfer the police officials responsible for this repression and form a committee to monitor the situation and bring peace on the campus.”

“We wonder how women can be treated like this in a democracy and that too when the Home Minister of the state (Sabita Indira Reddy) is a woman. The girl students are not safe in the premises,” they alleged.

Win-win situation for Telugu Desam in House

Did Telangana Rashtra Samiti MLAs commit a political blunder by going ahead with their resignations and unwittingly allow the Telangana Telugu Desam counterparts to occupy their space in the Assembly?

Three days after the TRS members’ resignations and their instant acceptance by Assembly Speaker N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, it has become a hot subject of discussion in the Assembly lobbies.

The belligerent posturing of Telangana TDP MLAs and the way they hogged the limelight during the last two days indicate that they were taking full advantage of the vacuum created by TRS members’ absence, as well as the low profile being maintained by Telangana Congress legislators’ owing to the diktat from the party high command.

After forcing the adjournment of the House and staging a protest sit-in for six hours on Tuesday to highlight the issue of police lathicharge on Osmania University students and demand withdrawal of cases against them, these MLAs almost did the same on Wednesday.

They managed to rope in the CPI and CPI (M) members this time.

In effect, TDP was taking up issues normally done by TRS.

Some of these TD legislators who could not hide their glee at the turn of events even felt that the TRS members should have made full use of the budget session to fight for the Telangana cause and resigned at the end of the session if they so desired.

The TRS members took the extreme step in a hurry instead of waiting for the Telangana Congress legislators’ move, they added.

Paramilitary forces pulled out of Osmania University

Following the orders of Andhra Pradesh High Court, the state government on Wednesday pulled out Rapid Action Force and other paramilitary forces from the Osmania University campus here.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner A.K. Khan told reporters that the paramilitary forces were moved out of the campus.

The court on Tuesday reprimanded the state government while dismissing its petition challenging the earlier direction by a single Judge Bench to withdraw the forces following the police baton charge on students and journalists on Sunday and Monday.

The court has taken a serious note of the incidents, especially the beating up of girl students by the police, switching off electricity supply, and firing of teargas shells in darkness.

While dealing with a petition of a television channel reporter who was assaulted by police, a single Judge Bench termed the state police “lawless” and remarked that even the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues were helpless in controlling the police.

“Perhaps it is time for Amnesty International to report on rights violations in the state,” observed Justice Narasimha Reddy while directing Joint Commissioner of Police P.S.R. Anjaneyulu to appear in person before him to answer his questions on handling the situation on the campus.

Scores of students and media persons were injured when police constables baton charged them on the campus during students’ protests over the demand for statehood to Telangana.

Meanwhile, Home Minister P. Sabita Indra Reddy told the state assembly that investigations into the incidents were on and a report would be available in a week.

Making a statement in the house, she claimed that police resorted to baton charge when students, who were trying to take out a procession violating prohibitory orders, pelted stones injuring three policemen.

On the demand of opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to withdraw all cases against students and other protestors, she said the government would consider it after peace is restored.

She said the government and police had apprehensions that anti-social elements in the guise of students had entered the university.

She said the state witnessed disturbances over Telangana issue for 68 days during which 1,288 cases were registered and 5,000 people were arrested. “While 1,070 cases were booked in Telangana, 218 cases were registered in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions,” she said.

TDP deputy leader N. Janardhan Reddy wanted to know why the government has turned Osmania University into a police camp. He said though union Home Minister P. Chidambaram announced on December 9 that all cases would be withdrawn, the state government had not taken any action.

Deputy Speaker N. Manohar abruptly adjourned the house till Thursday even as TDP legislators were protesting over the “unsatisfactory” statement by the Home Minister.