HYDERABAD: Alleging that a building, housing a wellknown restaurant owned by a sitting TRS MLA, was built by encroaching Osmania University land, student activists belonging to Telangana Vidhyarthi Vedika on Monday staged a protest and pelted stones at the hotel demanding immediate evacuation. Osmania University police registered cases under various Sections against nine students. Scores of students gathered in front of the Swagath Grand hotel at Habsiguda raising slogans against chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who recently announced the government decision to takeover 11 acres of the University to build houses for the poor. As the police present on the spot tried to pacify and disperse them, students pelted stones at the hotel damaging the window panes. Ever since the Chief Minister’s announcement on OU lands, various sections of the University have been on a warpath. On Monday, sensing trouble in view of the demonstration outside the hotel, police cordoned off the exit points of the varsity campus and deployed additional forces outside the hotel.
“The building belongs to Janagaon MLA Muthireddy Yadagiri Reddy of the TRS. It is built on the land encroached from OU. Before using OU land, why doesn’t the CM find out how much land has been encroached by his own men?,” asked Azaad, a TVV activist. Seventeen protesters were picked up by the OU police and taken to police station for questioning. “If anyone tries to touch OU lands, we are not going to keep quiet. Even an inch of OU land should not be occupied,” the students demanded. Meanwhile, the Telangana Students’ JAC approached the Lokayukta on Monday. “Taking university land for political benefit is unacceptable. OU is an autonomous university. As per rules of its executive council, no one has the right over the university lands,” said P Kailash, chairman of the TSJAC