The atmosphere at Hyderabad Central University on the day that Kanhaiya Kumar is scheduled to visit, is tense, owing to the presence of police who have been instructed not to let outsiders into the campus.
"The situation is peaceful. Forces have been deployed to maintain law and order," Joint Commissioner of Cyberabad Police TV Sashidhar Reddy told PTI.
OB vans of media houses were parked outside the campus as the main gate was the only through which entry and exit was permitted into the campus.
"In view of the situation, classes are suspended from March 23 to 26. We have taken a decision not to allow any outsider, including media persons and political parties, on the campus," Registrar M Sudhakar told PTI when asked about the proposed visit of JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar to the university.
Former CPI MP Aziz Pasha who arrived at the university was not allowed into the campus.
Kanhaiya Kumar is to arrive at the university on Wednesday but it is unclear what time he is scheduled to visit.
Students detained
Joint Action Committee member Arpita told The News Minute that 34 students and two faculty members had been picked up by the police around 6 pm after a series of lathicharges on Tuesday evening.
The two faculty members are KV Ratman, a professor at the Centre for Ambedkar Studies and Tathagatha Sengupta, a professor with the department of mathematics.
“We don’t know where they are. Since yesterday some of the other lecturers have been going to police stations trying to figure out where they are. They saw some students at the Mianpur police station, but are not allowed to talk to them,” Arpita told The News Minute on Wednesday.
Police are required by law to produce arrested persons before a magistrate within 24 hours.
Expressing disbelief at the events of the previous evening, Arpita said that police lathicharged the students and chased them for quite a distance. “We did not disperse after the first lathicharge. We were angry. How could he (VC) come back? How could he violate the law? And how can he get protection like this when we are being lathichaarged? He is booked under Section 17 of the SC /St Act,” Arpita said.
Since the students did not disperse, the police lathicharged them again, several times, and some of the students then began to pelt stones at the police. “Some students pelted stones at the police in self-defence when the lathicharge did not stop. But they were merciless with us. The male police grabbed out breasts, other body parts, this was just too much.”
She said that the university has now shut off power, water supply and internet connection, besides closing down the hostel mess. “The university is now pitting the non-teaching staff, who were with us until now, against us,” she said.