HYDERABAD: On account of the students’ associations announcing the decision commemorate 'RohithVemula Shahadath Din' on Tuesday i.e. January 17, the University of Hyderabad has stepped up security measures in the campus.
Barring a few familiar faces (staffers), all those who were walking or driving into the gates of UoH were stopped and checked for the University-issued identity cards.
Among those expected to reach the varsity campus to participate in the programme scheduled for afternoon are- the mother of JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, who has been missing from his campus for several months, Jaan Mohammed, brother of Mohammad Akhlaq the man who was lynched by a mob opposed to beef in September 2015, a few of the Dalits who were thrashed by cow vigilantes at Una in Gujarat last year, and the mother of Rohith Vemula.
However, the security personnel stated that no outsider would be allowed into the campus. "No one has come till now. The programme is at 3.30 PM," said a security person on Tuesday early afternoon.
On Tuesday, two layers of security personnel are seen standing guard at barricades before main gate of the University. 'Entry into the campus is restricted' was written in large font on a board leading to the gates.
Telangana Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members who reached UoH campus were stopped from proceeding further.
It was on same date last year that research scholar Rohith Vemula committed suicide on the campus.
On Monday, UoH administration had stated that no permission for the events has been sought and outsiders would not be allowed to enter the campus directly or indirectly.
Since the controversy of last year, the university has clamped a ban on the entry of outsiders, political parties, media personnel and social/student groups into the premises.