Hundreds of students took to the streets after the announcement and began pelting stones at police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel deployed near the university and at buses plying on University Road, resulting in chaos.
Osmania University, the de facto headquarters of the Telangana movement, erupted again late on Thursday after Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah said Hyderabad would be maintained as a free zone while recruiting sub-inspectors in the police department.
Hundreds of students took to the streets after the announcement and began pelting stones at police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel deployed near the university and at buses plying on University Road, resulting in chaos.
The student attack forced the eight RAF companies and police men present near the campus to resort to several rounds of caning. They also fired about 10 rounds of tear gas and 20 rounds of rubber bullets. Though there was no confirmation, at least 20-30 students are believed to have sustained serious injuries.
The issue of recruitment in the police department has been controversial for long. Andhra Pradesh is divided into six zones. Hyderabad, a part of Telangana, was initially in the sixth zone, but was later declared a free zone through a constitutional amendment.
There is no reservation in recruitment in a free zone, which means aspirants from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions too can compete for jobs in the police department in Hyderabad.
Telangana separatists have been opposing the categorisation of the city and want it restored in the sixth zone.
Rosaiah’s statement on Thursday evening that the city would continue to be a free zone based on an earlier judgment by the Supreme Court angered the students, who are now gearing up to ensure that the recruitment of sub-inspectors is stalled.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad police commissioner AK Khan imposed prohibitory orders in the city for a week. “There will be no permission to organise meetings or protests in the city as long as the prohibitory orders are in force,” he said.
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