It’s riot police versus people on Telangana streets again

Even as the Centre is keen on evolving a consensus on the issue of Telangana, the Srikrishna Committee report is sparking trouble in the region with the pro-Telangana groups taking to streets in almost all the districts of the region.

Osmania University (OU) witnessed police firing and stone-pelting for the second consecutive day. Though the media was barred from covering events at OU, sources in the OU joint action committee (JAC) said that 40 students have been injured in the last two days due to police caning and firing.

The situation is no different in Kakatiya University in Warangal and other campuses in the region. “It is building by the day. I don’t think the government would be able to keep things under control for long. The deployment of central forces in Telangana districts in the name of maintaining law and order is actually instigating trouble. People, particularly students, are getting provoked by seeing police in riot gear,” professor Vijay Kumar of Kakatiya University said.

Police have deployed new weaponry to suppress the agitating students. While new tear gas granite, which would explode after hitting the ground spreading the smoke, is being used and hundreds of these shells are being fired, the police are also using new guns.

“We are using a different gun this time. Instead of bullets, we use pellets in this. These are metal pellets but they would only injure and not kill a target,” DGP K Aravinda Rao said.

On Friday, the police fired tear gas shells seriously injuring two students.

“The police got into the ambulances used to shift students to hospitals and beat them up. The BSF and CISF deployed on the campus are behaving brutally,” Mahender, an OU JAC leader, said.