Tension flared up across Andhra Pradesh on Saturday as pro Telangana students of Osmania University in Hyderabad assaulted a group of teachers from Andhra and Rayala Seema regions, who had come to evaluate B.Ed papers.
Groups of students supporting the demand for a separate state of Telangana clashed with police at Osmania University campus for the second day on Friday.
The situation in Osmania University campus aggravated late on Sunday night as the police made a lathicharge and fired rubber bullets second time to disperse the students.
A Hyderabad court granted bail to six people who were arrested for vandalizing the residence of Telugu actor Allu Arjun. The incident sparked a political slugfest with the BJP and the BRS criticizing the Congress government. Meanwhile, Allu Arjun has been issued a notice to appear before police on Tuesday as part of the ongoing probe into a stampede during the screening of 'Pushpa-2'. The incident occurred on Sunday evening, when the six people, claiming to be members of the Osmania University - Joint Action Committee (OU-JAC), damaged flower pots and threw tomatoes at Arjun's residence. They were arrested by police and produced before a local court, which granted them bail on Monday. The incident has been condemned by politicians from various parties, with some alleging a Congress conspiracy.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has granted permission for Osmania University students to take out the proposed rally over the Telangana statehood on Sunday.
The credit for the creation of Telangana goes to those who laid down their lives for the state, activists tell Vicky Nanjappa
In the remand report, the police said the accused went to Arjun's house, forcibly entered the premises, beat up the security staff, and damaged the property.
Breaking the lull in their agitation, the pro-Telangana activists have called for a strike on September 5 to stall the Group I preliminary examinations of the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission. The bandh call has been given by the Osmania University Students Joint Action Committee to press its demand for a quota for the Telangana region in Group I jobs of the state government. Their stand is being supported by the Telangana Joint Action Committee.
The protests at the Osmania University, which has been the nerve centre of the movement, have intensified and two buses have been burnt down despite heavy police presence. Protests were also witnessed at the Dharna Chowk locality in Hyderabad.
The Osmania University Joint Action Committee on Telangana on Tuesday appealed to political parties in Andhra Pradesh to field relatives of people who died during the agitation for a separate state when the by-elections are held in over ten constituencies in the state.Manavat Rai, a member of the OU Joint Action Committee, said the parties should field relatives of the people, especially students, who have 'sacrificed their lives for the cause of a separate state'.
Even as pro-Telangana students are preparing to launch an indefinite hunger strike from July 11 at the Osmania University in Hyderabad, to press for Telangana statehood demand, police on Saturday denied permission to it.
The Osmania University Joint Action Committee for Telangana has set July 10 as deadline for the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre to announce the formation of the Telangana state.
Worried over his deteriorating health, doctors have advised Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrasekhar Rao to call off his nearly ten day fast-unto-death.
The protests at the Osmania University, which has been the nerve centre of the movement, have intensified and two buses have been burnt down despite heavy police presence. Protests were also witnessed at the Dharna Chowk locality in Hyderabad.
Dr Sangam Prithviraj Yadav, chief of the Students' Joint Action Committee for the Telangana movement, claims that the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, which has been at the forefront of the movement, is actually delaying the creation of a new state. In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, he explains why.
Students of Osmania University have decided to go ahead with their 'Vidhyarthy Garjana' (students' roar) rally on Sunday despite the Andhra Pradesh government refusing to permit the programme.
In fact, the students have given a call to the people to stop the ministers from entering their villages.
A day ahead of the call for march to the legislative assembly to press their demand for a separate state, the police on Wednesday cracked down on pro-Telangana activists on the Osmania University campus, taking into custody around 50 of them.
A group of persons, claiming to be members of Osmania University Joint Action Committee, on Sunday vandalised flower pots and other things at the residence of top Telugu actor Allu Arjun in Hyderabad.
Senior Union Human Resources Development ministry officials said in Delhi that Justice (retd) Roopanwal will review the entire sequence of events, the circumstances and to establish facts and correctives in the context of the incident in a university.
Security was beefed up with a large number of police personnel being deployed around the campus as a precautionary measure.
The Andhra Pradesh Police on Tuesday stepped up security across the state saying they were well prepared to maintain law and order particularly in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions in the wake of the decision to create separate Telangana.
Braving attacks by pro-Telangana elements, nearly one lakh employees from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions congregated in Hyderabad on Saturday for a rally, which gave the call to keep the state united.