Telangana bandh today after Osmania University students go on the rampage

Violent protests rocked several parts of Hyderabad on Monday as pro- Telangana students and lawyers went on the rampage. They set afire a local train, ransacked a railway station and clashed with police in several areas.

Tension ran high as throughout the day pro-Telangana activists kept trying to march to the Andhra Pradesh assembly and the Raj Bhavan. There was pandemonium in the House, too, over the issue and it was adjourned without transacting any business.

Hundreds of students of Osmania University took out a march to the assembly in the morning in an attempt to put pressure on the government to adopt a resolution on carving out a separate Telangana state. The students clashed with the police and paramilitary personnel when prevented from coming out of the campus. They pelted stones and the police retaliated with batoncharge and tear- gas shells.

A group of protesters set afire a Multi- Modal Transport System (MMTS) train coach at the Jamia Osmania railway station near the varsity campus. Another group of protesters ransacked the Necklace Road MMTS railway station near Raj Bhavan. They set ablaze the reservation counter, destroyed computers and broke window panes.

The incident triggered tension in the highsecurity areas around Raj Bhavan. The police forced shops in the area to close in order to prevent a march by pro- Telangana lawyers, who wanted to submit a memorandum to governor ESL Narasimhan. Violence also rocked the Nizam College area near the assembly building as students pelted stones, clashed with the police and damaged several vehicles.

Tension ran high at the college as the police pushed back the students inside the college. A group of girl students, however, managed to sneak through the security cordon and reached the police control room near the assembly building.

Raising slogans of “Jai Telangana”, the girls tried to move towards the assembly premises but were prevented by the police.

About 100 students of Osmania and other universities were arrested as they tried to enter the assembly complex. Revolutionary balladeer and Maoist sympathiser Gaddar, too, was arrested at Tank Bund when he tried to march towards the assembly.

In the evening, a group of pro- Telangana students managed to reach the assembly complex and tried to barge into the premises despite massive security cover. Even as the police arrested them, another group entered the assembly premises through the adjoining public gardens. However, the House had already been adjourned.

A curfew- like situation prevailed in several areas as police diverted traffic and barred even pedestrians from entering. The alternate routes saw huge traffic jams. The Joint Action Committee called for a two-day Telangana shutdown on Tuesday and Wednesday. They demanded that the Centre introduce a Bill in Parliament for separate statehood to the region. The police have sounded a high alert to prevent any untoward incident during the shutdown.

The strike comes even as the non- cooperation movement by government employees in the region continued for the fifth day on Monday. More than three lakh employees in government offices and state- owned units are participating in the movement.