HYDERABAD: Clashes on the Osmania University campus intensified on Friday after the students lobbed a variation of Molotov cocktails at the security forces and torched at least 10 vehicles in and around the campus even as the cops fought back with lathis, stun grenades and rubber bullets on a day which saw pitched battles between the two and showed no signs of abating.
In the violence that began at 10.30 am and lasted till 7 pm, at least 12 students and three security personnel were injured. The police fired over 200 rounds of tear gas shells, 40 rounds of stun grenades and 15 rounds of rubber bullets while the agitating students answered with stones at first and later improvised it with Molotov cocktails in which beer bottles were filled with petrol and lobbed at the security forces.
After a violent stand-off the previous day, the students numbering about 400 took out a rally from Arts College to the NCC gate at Vidyanagar around 10.30 am and wanted to proceed to Gun Park at the state assembly. However, on being denied permission, they started pelting stones at the security personnel near the Vidyanagar gate of the campus.
The cops retaliated with tear gas shells and rubber bullets and the stand-off continued till 12.30 pm. The students were finally dispersed from that point. While retreating, the students stared pelting stones again at the security forces stationed at an entry point near the Ladies Hostel to which the cops again replied with tear gas shells and rubber bullets. The second round of clash lasted for more than an hour.
Around 2.40 pm, the students regrouped at the Arts College and after a brief meeting, marched towards B Hostel. It was from here that the students from inside the hostel started lobbing Molotov cocktails and took the cops by surprise even as those outside pelted the security forces with stones.
It was at this stage that the cops resorted to firing tear gas shells from the Vajra vehicles. This standoff continued till almost one hour and triggered the worst phase of the violence on Friday.
Even as the injured students from near Arts College were being taken by 108 ambulance for treatment, the angry mob toppled a police jeep and torched it.
To add to the melee, a group of BJP leaders led by Bandaru Dattatreya arrived at the campus at around 5 pm and was arrested immediately.
The students then continued their battle with many of them moving to the football ground (A Ground) facing Big Bazaar, Tarnaka. While they tried to jump the wall to spill out into the main road, the police fired shells from the Tarnaka flyover to chase away the students.
But this time, the students strength rose to over a 1,000 and they were finally stopped from marching outside the campus at Manjira Hostel by the security forces. Around 6.30 pm, the students torched a private bus on the Tarnaka-Osmania University Road near B Hostel.
The violence then spilled over to the Tarnaka-Habsiguda main road in which four private buses, two cars and one tanker were damaged near Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Habsiguda by unidentified persons. At the same time, another private vehicle was torched by miscreants near English and Foreign Languages University (Eflu).
The stand off between police, locals and students continued till late in the night at Manikeswarinagar. DCP East Zone Y Gangadhar said seven persons were arrested in connection with the violence at OU on Friday.
The students, meanwhile, charged the security forces with unleashing brutality and vowed to fight on Saturday.
"We condemn the police attacks on students and request students from other universities in Telangana to pool in support for the movement," said Tirumani Kondal, co-convener, OU Students JAC.
Meanwhile, Kailash Neta, spokesperson, OU Telangana Students' JAC said that even after the students retreated, the police raided hostels and detained many of them.
The JAC has given a call to students to stage dharnas before the residences of public representatives belonging to Congress and TDP on Saturday, he added.
Source : The Times of India
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