DCP transferred after cop action

Hyderabad, Dec. 7: The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, on Monday transferred the East Zone DCP, Mr Stephen Ravindra, whom the pro-Telangana activists targeted for caning students twice in the Osmania University.

This comes after the home minister, Ms Sabita Indra Reddy, complained to the Chief Minister on police highhandedness.

On Sunday, the Chief Minister had pulled up

the police for remaining silent to the violence unleashed by miscreants in Panjagutta.

Earlier in the day, the police seized control of the turbulent Osmania University campus, the nerve centre of the ongoing Telangana agitation, and arrested three student leaders.

The university virtually turned into a police camp on the second day of 48-hour bandh called by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti with the deployment of CRPF, CISF, and the Quick Reaction Team of the city police drawn from anti-naxal Greyhounds units.

Police caned agitators who pelted stones at them from Manikeswara Nagar, adjacent to the campus. Local women alleged that police thrashed residents of the area along with students.

Earlier in the day, the cops arrested three joint action committee leaders including the convenor, Mr P. Ravi, on various charges including unlawful assembly and offences under the SC/ST Atrocities Act.
Police personnel started pouring into the campus in the early hours of Monday. They conducted a march in the campus and also entered the Arts College building and checked the hostels.
“We entered the campus, responding to the request of the registrar to safeguard lives and property,” said the inspector general of police, Mr R.P. Thakur.
Police closed the roads leading to the campus preventing outsiders from entering it and agitators from moving out.

“We are only trying to control the situation,” said the commissioner of police, Mr B. Prasada Rao. “There is no Rapid Action Force in the OU as alleged and neither did we enter the hostels.”

The commissioner said that outsiders were not being allowed in as they were provoking the students.

Police took into preventive custody several TRS leaders who tried to enter the Osmania

University including the MLAs, Mr Etala Rajendra, Mr Harish Rao and the MLC, Prof K. Nageswar. Mr Rajendra and Mr Harish Rao were shifted to Trimulagherry police station.

“Even after the home minister ordered that we be allowed in, the DCP Stephan Ravindra prevented us,” said Mr Harish Rao.

“Telangana police shall not hit their own children by following the orders of DGP and the Chief Minister hailing from Andhra.”

The MP, Ms Vijaya Shanti, the BJP leaders, Mr Bandaru Dattatreya and Mr Kishen Reddy, were also prevented by the police from entering the campus. Ms Vijayashanti was later allowed to meet students at the Arts College.

Police also detained a former sub-inspector, Shaymsundar, who made a speech supporting the call by the JAC and TRS leaders to the police to ‘put their guns down’

Meanwhile, the JAC is chalking out future course action in consultation with lawyers and government employees, who too are boycotting their duties demanding a separate state.
Hundreds of lawyers who boycotted the courts stormed OU campus by breaking the police cordon at Vidyanagar.

Due to the boycott, High Court could not take up several cases including the one relating to the Obulapuram Mining Company.