Paramilitary troops to monitor state on boil

As the Congress-led UPA government prepares for a decision on separate Telangana, 1,000 paramilitary personnel were rushed to Andhra Pradesh, in addition to 1,200 already deployed in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, fearing violent protests.

Officials said 10 more companies of paramilitary forces have been rushed to the state.

Apart from this, 4,000 paramilitary personnel are engaged in anti-Maoist operations in the state.  With the political class vertically divided over the issue, the security establishment is keeping its fingers crossed as the Telangana region had earlier witnessed violent protests demanding separate statehood.

Protests against bifurcation of the state have already broken out in Hyderabad and other places with demonstrators staging sit-ins in front of the residences of Congress MPs. Around 300 personnel of the Karnataka Armed Police and Tamil Nadu Armed Police are stationed in Hyderabad to assist state police in case of an emergency.

Last week, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had called Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary P K Mohanty and DGP V Dinesh Reddy to New Delhi to discuss the law and order situation in the state.

The top state officials were asked to brief the minister about the possible situation in the state if the government goes ahead with the formation of a separate Telangana.