Hyderabad: Mild tension prevailed across the state on Friday night as police arrested dozens of RTC union leaders and leaders of Opposition parties to prevent them from reaching Hyderabad for the Million March protest at Tank Bund on Saturday.
Hyderabad police commissioner Anjani Kumar has refused permission for the protest and imposed prohibitory orders in the city. Some 380 leaders from political parties and RTC unions have been taken into preventive custody. That number could increase by early Saturday.
In just the city alone, the Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda police took into custody 126 RTC union leaders belonging to 16 depots. Some Osmania University students were detained at night from the campus.
The police has set up check posts to prevent protesters from entering the city.
Police prevented RTC Joint Action Committee leaders E Ashwathama Reddy, Raji Reddy, Thomas Reddy and Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao, Telangana Jana Samiti president Prof M Kodandaram, CPI leader Chada Venkat Reddy and others from moving out of their houses.
Among the Osmania University students detained are Dudapaka Naresh, R.N. Shankar, G. Shyam, Srihari and Ch. Dayakar.
Mr Venkat Reddy, Mr Hanumantha Rao and Prof. Kodandaram alle-ged that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao who had organised the Million March during the Telangana statehood agitation was now suppressing the protest of the RTC unions which showed his “dual and fascist attitude.”
They alleged that the Chief Minister was in the habit of “using and throwing” people. He had used RTC workers for the statehood movement and was now throwing them out.
