Telangana issue: Police baton-charge Osmania University students

Attacking police for baton-charge on students at the Osmania University, the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) today alleged that the police violated the directives of Human Rights Commission and behaved like a gang of rowdy elements.

"The state Human Rights Commission in an earlier order had directed that the police should not deploy excess force, that they should not resort to firing or lob tear gas shells and that they should not enter the campus if students are maintaining peace. But, the police here violated these directives yesterday," JAC convener C Kodandaram told reporters here.

The police mercilessly baton-charged the students, including girls, which appeared to be a pre-determined plan, he alleged.

"The policemen beat up students for raising slogans like 'Jai Telangana'. They behaved like a gang of rowdy elements. This is nothing but an attack on Telangana. We demand stern action against the guilty," he said.

Quoting students, Kodandaram claimed that the policemen who appeared to be hailing from non-Telangana regions had a grouse against the students. He demanded that the police should be removed from the campus immediately and medical treatment is provided to the injured students.

The JAC convener also appealed to the ministers and MLAs hailing from Telangana to quit their posts immediately as 'the present government was proving to be anti-Telangana'.

About 22 persons, including five mediapersons and 11 security personnel were injured yesterday when students agitating over creation of a separate Telangana clashed with police at the Osmania University campus.

Security personnel resorted to lathi-charge, fired rubber bullets and lob tear gas shells when students, defying prohibitory orders, pelted stones at them and tried to take out a procession in support of JAC legislators who resigned over the Terms of Reference of the Srikrishna Committee.