Hyderabad, January 21: The bandh call given by the Osmania University students Joint Action Committee (JAC) evoked mixed response in the City while it was partial in Telangana districts.
Apart from the lathicharge on the OU students during the funeral procession of K Venugopal Reddy, police had to resort to lathicharge at three other places.
In Warangal, police caned students when they tried to proceed towards the residences of Konda Surekha and minister P Laxmaiah.
Similarly, at Nagole police had to resort to lathicharge when they tried to forcibly close down shops.
TRS MLA K T Rama Rao was taken into custody in the City for forcibly closing business establishments.
In all, seven private buses were damaged at LB Nagar, Quthbullapur while a RTC bus and a GHMC vehicle were damaged near Vanasthalipuram and Chintal respectively. The office room of a petrol bunk at Medchal, furniture of excise office at Ibrahimpatnam were also damaged while TRS workers damaged window glasses and a landline telephone of Krishnaveni Talent School near Chinatal.
In the City, protestors damaged glasses of a private bus at Musheerabad.
PDSU members damaged the furniture of Sri Chaitanya Junior College Hostel at Khammam while police took several agitators into custody after setting fire to a lorry at Kodad in Nalgonda.
As a precautionary measure, AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) had withdrawn its services in the region. All shops and establishments, educational institutions and cinema halls were closed.
The agitators stopped the traffic on all National and State Highways and organised dharnas on the roads. Police resorted to lathicharge and used teargas shells on the protestors in Nakrekal in Nalgonda district when the situation went out of control.
Expecting that there may be violent protests after the OU firing, police have deployed additional forces, which included Rapid Action Force (RAF) and AP Special Police in Karimnagar town. Advocates from Manthani Bar Association have taken out a padayatra from Mahadevpur to Manthani, covering a 49-km stretch and raising slogans in favour of Telangana State.
Protest rallies were also organised in Adilabad, Mahaboobnagar and Medak districts.
Devotees visiting Sammakka and Sarakka jatara in Warangal district and those attending the Vasanth Panchami celebrations at Gnana Saraswathi Temple in Basara have faced transportation problems with private vehicles jacking up their charges.
–Agencies–