Telangana stir: Scores of students, activists rounded up in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Scores of pro-Telangana activists including students were today taken into custody by police as they tried to defy prohibitory orders to participate in the ‘Chalo Assembly’ protest in different parts of the city, police said. All main roads of the city leading towards the Secretariat and the AP Assembly wore a deserted look with police imposing severe traffic restrictions. [caption id=“attachment_871825” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Student protesters supporting the demand for the creation of a new state called Telangana, clash with police in Hyderabad. AP[/caption] Curfew-like situation prevailed at some parts of the city with police restrictions and security arrangements. Police have made unprecedented security arrangements across the city and imposed prohibitory orders in Hyderabad and Cyberabad police commissionerate to ensure smooth functioning of the AP Assembly which is in session. Osmania University (OU) continued to simmer for the third-day in a row with protesting students clashing with police by pelting stones at six locations in and around the campus prompting police to fire teargas shells, they said. “We observed lot of restrain, but they (protesters) continued to hurl stones at us. They insisted to go out of the OU campus to participate in the ‘Chalo Assembly’ agitation for which permission has already been denied,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (East Zone) R Jaya Lakshmi told PTI. Some protesters have been picked up in connection with the stone-pelting incident even as few police personnel and one student suffered minor injuries, she said adding police had to lob teargas shells to disperse the protesters and situation is under control on the OU campus. Elsewhere, police took into custody T-JAC leader Kodandaram among scores of others near Indira Park here while they were attempting to march towards the Assembly. Rebel Congress MPs Vivek and Manda Jagganatham were also taken into custody by police when the duo tried to reach Assembly in support of the protest call. TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao’s son and TRS MLA K Tarakrama Rao and his daughter and Telangana Jagruthi leader K Kavitha were picked up by police at different places in the city. PTI