Hyderabad University: Students demanding VC Appa Rao's removal taken into protective custody

Hyderabad: Tension prevailed near the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) on Wednesday after scores of students belonging to different organisations held protests demanding arrest of the Vice Chancellor and tried to forcibly enter the varsity even as police took them into preventive custody. [caption id=“attachment_2715392” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of protesting Hyderabad University students. PTI[/caption] In another development, Controller of Examination Professor V Krishna, expressing solidarity with the protesting students against Rao’s removal, resigned from the post and walked out of the Academic Council Meeting going on in HCU. The students gathered in front of the campus as part of a call for ‘Chalo HCU’ given by Joint Action Committee for Social Justice of HCU to intensify their ongoing agitation demanding removal and arrest of Vice Chancellor Appa Rao Podile, who resumed as VC on 22 March. Some of them climbed the main entrance gate even as police deployed in large numbers, immediately intervened and prevented them from entering the campus and took them into preventive custody. The protesting students raised slogans against Rao and held banners asking him to leave the campus. They said Rao has been booked on charge of abetting suicide of research scholar Rohith Vemula, and questioned how can he hold the 76th academic council meeting, which was going on in the university on Wednesday. The JAC earlier had appealed to all the students, political organisations, and people to come to the HCU on Wednesday to register their protest and express solidarity against the alleged injustice to Rohit and to the university. Since the university administration has imposed a blockade on the campus preventing students to contact anyone from outside, ‘Chalo HCU’ call is also against the imposed blockade on the university, JAC had said. On 23 March, the varsity authorities had decided not to allow any outsider, including mediapersons and politicians, on the campus. HCU is on the boil since January this year after Dalit research scholar Vemula committed suicide in a hostel room of the varsity. Meanwhile, the university authorities termed as rumours the reports in a section of media that there is a bandh in the varsity on Wednesday. “This is false information. The reports from various schools and departments confirm that the classes are functioning smoothly and it is also clarified that administration is also functioning normally,” a statement from HCU said. The JAC said that the two-member inquiry commission sent by the HRD Ministry has blamed the VC and the administration over Rohit’s death. It said that as HRD ministry’s judicial probe is still going on, Rao’s presence as VC can tamper the inquiry process.