Hyderabad, January 12: Tension prevailed today at the Osmania University campus with activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) breaking the police cordon and forcing their way into the campus as part of their ‘Chalo OU’ agitation demanding withdrawal of the central paramilitary forces stationed there.
Police and security forces had to resort to mild lathicharge on the students but it did not stop them from entering the campus and staging a dharna in front of the OU police station. They also threw stones on the police station but the situation was brought under control immediately with the agitating students taken into preventive custody.
“We have taken 260 ABVP activists into preventive custody,” East Zone DCP Y Gangadhar said.
Though the ABVP activists were planning to storm the campus throught the NCC gate, police and central forces were deployed on all sides to prevent any surprise intrusion by the students.
Around 12 noon, nearly 300 students gathered at the ABVP of fice at Vidyanagar and took out a rally towards OU.
Police blocked the road leading to the campus with barricades and barbed wires and the city police were accompanied by CISF and RAF personnel who laid a multi-layer security cordon to obstruct the students.
Though initially the ABVP activists were obstructed by the police at the NCC Chowk, the students soon gained the upper hand and broke through the cordon. Police had to resort to mild lathicharge to disperse many students.
The students were later confronted by the central forces but more than 50 students managed to force their way inside the campus and raised slogans.
The ABVP activists also tried to enter the campus from the OU police station and Tarnaka side but were prevented by the police.
The ABVP activists who managed to enter the campus premises, pelted stones at the police station. But many of them were taken into preventive custody.
ABVP leader Kadiyam Raju claimed that nearly 10 students, including two women, were injured in the lathicharge but police denied this. He also said that police had prevented several of their activists from coming into the city at the outskirts itself. “We will stage protests across Telangana tomorrow protesting the lathicharge on our activists,” Raju said.
–Agencies