Central forces to stay on Osmania campus, says SC

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed till February 23 the Andhra Pradesh High Court order directing withdrawal of Central paramilitary forces from the Osmania University campus that witnessed police taking on students and mediapersons with lathis, rubber bullets and teargas for two consecutive days last week.

A bench of Justices G S Singhvi and T S Thakur, however, directed that the paramilitary forces to operate strictly under the personal supervision of the home secretary who should ensure that the forces do not misbehave with students in any manner.

The state government had approached the apex court challenging the High Court’s direction to withdraw the forces from the campus following two days’ of police action against the students on the campus that saw 30 students hospitalised with severe injuries.

Even girls were not spared. They were chased to their hostel and allegedly molested. The security forces were accused of pulling the girls by their clothes and hair and using abusive language. Mediapersons who were covering the students march last Monday were also targeted by the police who not only beat them up but even set on fire their vehicles.

A division bench of the High Court had on February 16 upheld the directions of a single judge to remove the Rapid Action Force from the Osmania University campus.

The state government has come under fire three times in the last four days. On Monday, the single judge bench of Justice L Narasimha Reddy ordered the police to leave the campus.


Hyderabad may see more protests 
Even as the Congress in the Telangana region announced on Friday its parting of ways with the all-party Telangana Joint Action Committee, the police have announced a near-curfew on the city on Saturday to prevent students from laying siege to the Assembly, reports DHNS from Hyderabad. The JAC plans to lay siege to the AP Assembly for forcing elected representatives from the region to resign and put pressure on the Centre to concede statehood for the Telangana region. All routes leading to the Assembly have been closed and prohibitory orders imposed on the city for five days from Saturday.

On Thursday, the High Court once again pulled up the police for using unjustified force against students and journalists and asked them why the CBI should not be asked to probe the violence.