Hyderabad, May 30: The bandh observed in districts of Telangana region to protest the firing on those supporting the separate statehood issue in Mahbubabad town passed off peacefully today, barring stray incidents of damage to public and private properties, police said.
Apart from resorting to road blockades and burning buses, pro-Telangana activists held dharnas, took out rallies and burnt effigies of Congress MP Jaganmohan Reddy, Parkal MLA Konda Surekha and her MLC husband K Murali at Osmania University campus and in Nizamabad district, they said.
Holding the Kadapa MP responsible for yesterday’s violence at Mahbubabad railway station in Warangal district in which nine pro-Telangana activists suffered injuries after gunmen of Congress legislators allegedly fired on them, the Telangana Joint Action Committee had given a bandh call in the region today.
Elsewhere in Rayalaseema region, denouncing the preventive arrest of Jaganmohan, his followers and Congress workers also observed bandh in Anantapur and Chittoor district, though it hardly had any impact on normal life.
Strongly condemning the Mahbubabad incident, pro-Telangana agitators enforced bandh in Warangal, Medak, Mahbubnagar, Karimnagar, Nalgonda and Nizamabad districts even as police took 897 persons into preventive custody and also arrested five persons after registering 17 cases under various IPC sections, police said.
The Telangana statehood supporters hurled stones at the residence of Nirmal MLA A Maheshwar Reddy, (who belongs to Praja Rajyam party) in Adilabad district.
Three buses of a private school were burnt in Warangal district by pro-Telangana activists, who also set fire to one RTC bus at Kukatpally and torched two private buses at Dundigal area in Hyderabad besides damaging seven RTC buses in Adilabad, Khammam, Warangal and Yadagirigutta, police said.
A report from Medak district said the bandh was successful and peaceful with shops, business establishments and petrol bunks remaining closed. The protesters held ‘rasta-rokos’ at Siddipet, Medak, Sadasivpet, Narayankhed, other towns.
TRS and BJP workers blocked the NH-9 (Hyderabad-Mumbai) near Sangareddy for over 30 minutes, resulting in heavy traffic jam on the route. Police took TRS leader Harish Rao into preventive custody at Siddipet while he and others held a dharna.
The bandh in Warangal district was total and peaceful, according to a report. Banks, shops, petrol bunks, vegetable markets remained closed and Andhra Pradesh State Transport Corporation (APSRTC) suspended services in all eight depots in the district.
Condemning the Mahbubabad violence, members of TRS, BJP, T-JAC held demonstrations at Hanamkonda for over two hours and raised anti-Jaganmohan slogans.
Pro-Telangana protesters also burnt copies of ‘Sakshi’ (a Telugu daily owned by Jaganmohan) at Hanamkonda besides squatting on rail tracks at Kazipet, Warangal railway stations, police said.
Kakatiya University JAC members staged a demonstration in front of the District Congress office in Warangal town.
A report from Karimnagar district said the bandh was total and peaceful with commercial establishments, educational institutions and petrol bunks remaining closed.
Pro-Telangana activists stopped Bodhan-Nizamabad passenger train, pelted stones on RTC buses, and on a Andhra Bank branch, Nizamabad District Superintendent of Police K Venkateshwara Rao told agency over phone. “The bandh evoked partial response in Nizamabad district,” he said.
Telangana activists took out motorbike rallies in Warangal, Karimnagar and other Telangana districts shouting anti-Jagan slogans.
At several places across Telangana districts passengers were stranded at bus-stands after Andhra Pradesh State Transport Corporation (APSRTC) suspended services following the protests. The bandh, however, evoked lukewarm response in Hyderabad city.
As many as 255 people were taken into preventive custody in Hyderabad city, 52 in Warangal district, 57 in Nalgonda, 165 in Medak, 19 in Mahbubnagar, 40 in Nizamabad, 42 in Khammam, 52 in Karimnagar and 22 in Adilabad district besides 163 persons under the limits of Cyberabad Police Commissionerate.
The TRS Osmania University JAC, Kakatiya University JAC and BJP also supported the bandh.
After pro-Telangana activists resorted to attacking shops in Tarnaka area here, the Osmania University authorities postponed exams of MBA (IV semester) Paper-I and BCA second-year (II semester) which were scheduled for today.
Protesting the Mahbubabad violence, the OU-JAC activists burnt effigies of the Kadapa MP and Congress MLA K Surekha at the OU varsity campus, officials said.
Meanwhile, sporadic incidents were reported in protest against the stoppage of the yatra and the preventive arrest of Congress MP Jaganmohan Reddy in some parts of Rayalaseema region.
There were two incidents under Porumamilla Police station limits of Kadapa district where two cases were registered against agitators who tried to enforce bandh.
Similarly, three specific cases of unlawful assembly and damages to property were registered in Tirupati East Police station against the agitators, a release from the office of Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police said.
Meanwhile, three bogeys of a passenger train caught fire at the Rajahmundry Railway station in the wee hours today under mysterious circumstances, police said.
Efforts are on to ascertain whether this was an accident or the handiwork of some miscreants, they said.
Meanwhile, three bogeys of a passenger train caught fire at the Rajahmundry Railway station in the wee hours today in mysterious circumstances, police said.
Efforts are on to ascertain whether this was an accident or the handiwork of some miscreants, they said.
-PTI