HYDERABAD: Cyberabad Police on Wednesday registered a case of trespassing against a journalist working for an English magazine for allegedly entering the University of Hyderabad (UoH) campus without authorisation.
Following a complaint by the varsity’s security, Kunal S was booked on charges of trespassing and other relevant sections of IPC, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (Madhapur Zone) P Vishwa Prasad.
The complainant accused Kunal of sneaking into the varsity and covering an event (protest) by a group of students on the first death anniversary of research scholar Rohit Vemula, who "committed" suicide in a hostel room on the UoH campus on January 17 last year.
Kunal defended himself, saying he entered the campus on official duty after he was invited by a faculty member to collect information about the protest.
"I was accosted by UoH security personnel and later taken to Cyberabad Commissionerate by local police where an ACP rank officer questioned me for hours together before being let off," he said.
Kunal said he had entered the varsity after showing his ID card, while the varsity claims he was not given a visitor’s pass to enter.
In view of the programmes planned by the JAC for Social Justice at UoH to mark Vemula's death anniversary on Wednesday, the university had on Tuesday said it has not issued any permission to hold such activities.
“There is a ban on campus from allowing outsiders into the campus and hence the university will not entertain any outsiders directly or indirectly to enter the campus”, said a circular from UoH.
The high court has barred entry of all outsiders into the university campus, it added.
We are investigating the matter, said the DCP, and added that further probe is on.