One protester was severely injured after he was hit on the neck by a tear gas shell fired by the police, while two others were hurt in the protests which rocked Osmania University (OU) on Friday. More than 10 people were picked up from the NCC gate, while another 10 Telangana Students Joint Action Committee (TSJAC) students were arrested while they were protesting near the CM camp office in the evening.
The scene in OU picked up from where it was left off on Thursday, as around 100 students gathered near the NCC gate at around 10 a.m. and started pelting stones at the police. As the pelting got intense, the police began firing tear gas shells to disperse the students. Krishna, an MA student was hit by a tear gas shell on his neck. He was immediately taken to Gandhi hospital, from where he was shifted to Yashoda hospital in Malakpet.
Even after an hour, the situation remained more or less the same, with the students raining stones on the police, while the latter retaliated by firing tear gas shells. However, at around 11.30 a.m., about 50 students started climbing the gate and tried to push back the barricades erected by the police. However the police foiled their attempt by firing tear gas shells. Dayakar, a student leader and another student Sai were also hurt.
The protesters, however, failed to even nudge the police, as the security forces, including the Rapid Action Force and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel only had to stand and maintain the barricades in front of the gate. Not even for a moment did it look like the students would succeed in breaking free, as the turnout was much lesser than expected. However, four students who managed to break free during the protests, were arrested by the police, apart from others who were picked up from within the vicinity.
While a Vajra vehicles was also brought in by the police, it was withdrawn as the intensity of the protest had come down. By 2.30 pm, it looked like things had calmed down, but the semblance of the end of violence was broken when some students started throwing stones at the police posted on the road near the girls hostel, at around 3 pm, after which few more tear gas shells were fired. However, that also ended soon, and the protesters slowly started retreating by 5 pm, after which the security forces heaved a sigh of relief.
Also, the police picked up more than 10 persons from within the vicinity, saying that they were protesters, who had sneaked out of the OU campus after pelting stones. One of the person who was detained Uma, said that he was simply watching the protests when the police detained him. Others also had similar stories to tell. “We are verifying the identity of those who were detained. We also have videographic evidence, and we’ll take a decision based on that. Also it is very easy to sneak in and out of the campus, as many boys use the hockey ground nearby for that purpose,” said Jaya Lakshmi, DCP, east zone.
