Tensions flared at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) on the morning of April 2 as police resorted to a lathi charge against students and faculty protesting the Telangana government’s decision to auction 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli. At least 20 students were injured, with two reportedly in critical condition.
Hundreds of protesting students and faculty members from the University of Hyderabad Teachers Association (UHTA) marched towards the East Campus, where clearance work was underway. However, they were stopped by police barricades and heavy deployment of personnel. As demonstrators attempted to cross the barriers, chanting slogans like “Police go back” and “Ladenge Jeetenge,” police used force to disperse them.
A UHTA spokesperson stated that some students were “brutally lathi-charged,” while videos of the police action quickly spread across social media. However, Hyderabad police denied the claims, asserting that students were merely prevented from holding a rally even after videos showing police lathi charging protestors have gone viral on social media.
The protests gained political traction as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) condemned the alleged police brutality and accused Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of prioritising real estate development over environmental conservation and student concerns. BRS working president KT Rama Rao also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, pointing out that he had previously visited UoH during protests under the BRS regime, where his security was ensured, yet the Congress-led state government was now cracking down on dissent.
The Telangana government maintains that the disputed land belongs to the state and not the university, asserting that its IT infrastructure development plans do not encroach upon UoH property. However, UoH officials have contradicted this claim, stating that the land boundary has not been finalised. Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu—both UoH alumni—have insisted that “not an inch” of university land has been taken.