Hyderabad, January 11: The State government suspects the presence of outsiders on the Osmania University campus in the guise of students. Both the police and the University authorities have come to know that these non-students are the troublemakers who have been resorting to violence in and around the campus and launching attacks on the police personnel in the name of Telangana movement. The OU officials have been asked to deal with the issue.
In a special meeting convened by Home Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy at the Secretariat today, the people’s representatives from the Congress raised concerns over the police restrictions on the movement of students and media on the campus apart from the presence of central forces.
Talking to newsmen waiting outside the venue after the meeting, MPs M Jagannadham and G Vivek said they had told the Home Minister that the police were not allowing movement of students and all the university canteens were closed leaving them without food. The forces were using pellets instead of rubber bullets putting the lives of students in danger.
The media was also not being permitted to cover the incidents leading to confusion on the situation on the campus. The Home Minister had assured to look into the issues and take necessary action, they said.
Sabitha Indra Reddy said the meeting was convened only to clarify the concerns being raised by political parties over the presence of police forces on the university campus. The entry of police personnel was restricted to the OU police station and to the entrance gates on both sides. “The reports about the Central forces and the police personnel venturing into the university are baseless.
There are also no restrictions on the movement of students or the media,” she said. Students were being stopped only when they were trying to come out in large numbers with an intention to create trouble, she added.
OU vice-chancellor T Tirupati Rao clarified that the university mess was closed after the staff left for the Sankranthi vacation and it had no connection with the Telangana movement. However, arrangements were being made to serve food for students in one of the canteens, he said.
It was decided that any further action would be initiated after the committees constituted by the State Human Rights Commission and the OU authorities inquire into the situation on the campus.
Director General of Police K Aravinda Rao, Hyderabad Police Commissioner AK Khan and OU College of Arts dean PL Visweswara Rao along with Congress leaders from Telangana region and the members of OU Peace Committee participated in the meeting.
—-Agencies