Tension prevailed on the campus of Osmania University here on Friday, March 24, as police detained leaders of some student groups to foil the protest over the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) exam paper leak. Police picked up student leaders from hostels and shifted them to the Osmania University police station. According to student leaders, a police force was deployed in the campus from Thursday, and they placed restrictions on entry and exit to and from the campus. A student leader, Srikanth tried to set himself afire on the campus, but some police personnel swung into action and stopped him.
Police had denied permission to the students' Joint Action Committee for the Vidyarthi Nirudyoga Maha Nirasana Deeksha or protest by students and the unemployed. The organisers had planned to take out a march from Arts College on the campus to Telangana Martyrs' Memorial Gun Park near the Assembly building in the heart of the city. When some protesters gathered in front of Arts College, police arrested them. Holding placards, students raised slogans of 'Khabardar KCR'.
Osmania University was the nerve centre of students' protest during the Telangana movement. The self-immolation of a student during one such protest intensified the movement. The Students' JAC is now looking to launch a similar movement on the problems faced by the unemployed in the state.
Telangana Unemployed JAC chairman Bheem Rao Nayak condemned the arrests. He said the arrests would not suppress their movement. He said protests would be organised in all universities and districts from Saturday. He criticised Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for not responding to an issue that shocked 30 lakh unemployed people in the state.
The organisers demanded the removal of TSPSC Chairman and members from their posts over the paper leak. They also demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a sitting judge.
The police also stopped leaders of the opposition Congress party from reaching Osmania University to participate in the protest by placing them under house arrest. State Congress chief A Revanth Reddy and other leaders were placed under house arrest.
Meanwhile, the students' wing of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) also staged a protest at the Osmania University campus against the Congress. The workers of BRSV raised slogans of 'Revanth Reddy go back'. The protestors tried to set fire to an effigy of the Congress leader but were detained by the police.
With IANS inputs