Hyderabad University students, lecturers granted bail

The students and lecturers of Hyderabad University have been granted bail in connection with the case of vandalism of the Vice Chancellor’s office on March 22.

Hyderabad’s 24the Municipal Magistrate’s Court granted bail to 25 students and the two professors KY Ratnam and Tathagatha Sengupta.

The students will be released only on Tuesday.  

Advocate C Damodar Reddy told The News Minute, "They have to pay a surety of Rs 5000 per person. They also have to appear before the SHO, Gachibowli every Saturday between between 10am and 1pm. The public prosecutor did not oppose the bail and the judge did not pass any remarks while granting bail."

Professor Ratnam's wife told TNM that she is very happy, but at the same time disappointed that without any crime, her husband and her family had to suffer. 

Twenty-five students, two lecturers and of them had been picked up by the Hyderabad police on March, the day the Apparao Podile resumed charge as Vice Chancellor. A number of students had gathered at the gathered at the VC’s lodge on campus to protest his return.

In the melee, some furniture was damaged. For several hours after the students were picked up, their friends, family members and the university faculty had no idea where they were. Despite students and professors shuttling between three police stations, they could not locate some of the students, while they were prevented from talking to the ones whom they saw in police stations.

The students and the two professors had been lodged in the Cherlapalli jail and remanded to judicial custody.

The students have alleged that many of them were beaten inside police vans, and detained for 36 hours without being produced before a magistrate.

The students have given a nationawide call for boycott of classes starting from Monday. 

Indian law requires an arrested person to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, classes resumed in Hyderabad Central University on Monday after being suspended since March 23, amid a fresh boycott call given by Joint Action Committee for Social Justice (JAC) which is leading the protest on Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide issue.

"Classes have resumed from today.... The Vice-Chancellor has also appealed students to attend the classes," HCU registrar M Sudhakar told PTI.

(With PTI inputs)