Hyderabad Central University: Classes cancelled, outsiders banned following row over VC

Tension mounted in Hyderabad Central University following the resumption of duty by controversial Vice Chancellor Appa Rao Podile with authorities on Wednesday barring outsiders from entering the campus and classes being suspended for four days.   “In view of the situation, classes are suspended from 23 to 26 March. We have taken a decision not to allow any outsider, including mediapersons and political parties, on the campus,” Registrar M Sudhakar told PTI when asked about the proposed visit of JNU students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar to the university. Police said additional forces have been deployed on the campus as a precautionary measure and pickets set up around Podile’s official residence. [caption id=“attachment_2692114” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Students protest over Rohith Vemula’s suicide, on 23 February 2016 in New Delhi, India.Getty Images[/caption] Few of the hostels in the university do not have drinking water; the mess was closed and some of the hostels even experienced power cut, according to students at the university. On Tuesday, The University of Hyderabad issued an order to deny entry to all media personnel, political groups, external student organisations and politicians inside the campus. The move comes after the VC sought protection following yesterday’s incidents when his residence was vandalised allegedly by a group of students who were opposing his return as the Vice Chancellor after a two-month leave. “The situation is peaceful. Forces have been deployed to maintain law and order,” Joint Commissioner of Cyberabad Police TV Sashidhar Reddy said. Police resorted to lathi-charge on the students who were protesting outside the VC’s official residence. The students had raised slogans against the Vice Chancellor, barged into his residence, broken window panes, smashed doors and television set among other items. The students demanded that the VC be arrested immediately as he was one of the accused in Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula’s alleged suicide case on 17 January. Podile, who is in the eye of a storm over Vemula’s suicide, had proceeded on leave on 24 January as the agitating students demanded his resignation and held vigorous protests seeking “justice” for the Dalit student. Here is the letter the university wrote to the police, requesting for ‘adequate personnel’ as a precautionary measure:                                                            With inputs from PTI