Cops hijack Osmania student’s body as violence escalates (Lead)
January 20th, 2010 - 3:50 pm ICT by IANS
Hyderabad, Jan 20 (IANS) Police took control of the body of the Osmania University student who had committed suicide and several Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leaders were arrested Wednesday as protests for statehood to Andhra Pradesh’s Telangana region took a violent turn.
At least a dozen students and five policemen were injured in clashes in the sprawling Osmania University campus during the funeral procession of Venugopal Reddy, a final year MCA (master of computer applications) student, who had set himself on fire early Tuesday to protest the delay in carving out a Telangana state.
The campus turned into a battle zone as police fired several rounds in the air, lobbed teargas shells and cane-charged to disperse the students, who were pelting stones.
The clashes erupted when police and paramilitary forces tried to stop hundreds of students from marching towards the city centre with Venugopal Reddy’s body.
Police stopped the procession near the Ladies Hostel in the campus. The students wanted to take the body to Martyrs’ Memorial near the state assembly building.
The police took control of the ambulance carrying Venugopal Reddy’s body and took it to his home in Nalgonda.
The students’ Joint Action Committee (JAC) kept his body in the campus through Tuesday night and had planned to take it to Nalgonda in a procession.
The JAC was planning to keep the body at the Martyrs’ Memorial and force all MPs and legislators from Telangana to resign in support of the demand for a separate state.
Police also arrested TRS legislators Harish Rao, E. Rajender and Taraka Rama Rao.
Harish Rao blamed police for the violence saying the students were peaceful and wanted to take the body to the memorial to enable people to pay their last respects.
Ruling Congress legislator R. Damodar Reddy also held the police responsible. “The police should not provoke peaceful protestors, otherwise the government will be responsible for the consequences.”
- Osmania students begin fast, clash with police (Second Lead) - Jul 11, 2011
- Violence in Osmania varsity as students clash with police - Jan 20, 2010
- Student commits suicide over Telangana, situation tense (Lead) - Jul 31, 2010
- Telangana again on boil with suicides, shutdown (Roundup) - Jan 20, 2010
- Student commits suicide for Telangana, Osmania University tense - Jul 31, 2010
- Telangana on boil again over statehood demand (Lead) - Jan 20, 2010
- Quit or face action, Telangana activists tell MLAs - Jul 05, 2011
- Pressure on Jaipal Reddy, others to quit (Lead) - Jul 05, 2011
- Telangana MP sent to jail - Oct 16, 2011
- Osmania University still tense, TRS MP arrested - Jan 08, 2011
- Telangana activists pay last respects to Yadi Reddy - Jul 22, 2011
- Violence rocks Osmania University, students begin fast (Lead) - Jul 11, 2011
- Cook-and-eat agitation in Hyderabad for Telangana state (Lead) - Jun 19, 2011
- Telangana on boil, strike continues - Sep 23, 2011
- Violence in Telangana as TRS chief jailed ahead of 'fast-unto-death' (Third lead) - Nov 29, 2009
Tags: action committee, battle zone, computer applications, damodar reddy, dozen students, early tuesday, funeral procession, jac, last respects, martyrs, master of computer, osmania university, paramilitary forces, peaceful protestors, rama rao, state assembly, statehood, taraka, telangana, venugopal