High alert has been sounded by the police and forces rushed to coastal and Rayalaseema districts in apprehension of trouble ahead of the Union Cabinet approving a separate Telangana on the recommendation of the Group of Ministers.
A total of 81 companies of Central security forces, including 10 companies that arrived today, were deployed in various parts of the region and Hyderabad. Another 14 companies are expected shortly. They will be in addition to the forces of AP Special Police and local police, the Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, V.S.K. Kaumudi told The Hindu .
The police beefed up security near the residences of Ministers and other Congress leaders in Hyderabad while staging a flag march in Anantapur which witnessed large-scale violence in the last spell of agitation in Rayalaseema.
A three tier security cordon was thrown around the residence of Primary Education Minister S. Sailajanath in Anantapur. Companies of Central Reserve Police Force were also deployed in Vijayawada, Tirupati and Rajahmundry. The buses were confined to depots in Kurnool district.
Among the leaders whose houses were fortified with security in districts included Union Ministers J.D. Seelam and Panabaka Laxmi, State Ministers Anam Ramnarayan Reddy, D. Manikya Varaprasad and Kanna Laxminarayana, MPs Chinta Mohan and Rayapati Sambasiva Rao and former BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu.
A large force reached the Nagarjuna university campus in Guntur to prevent any trouble.
The Director General of Police, B. Prasada Rao, directed the zonal Inspectors and Deputy Inspectors General to personally supervise the security arrangements.
Security was stepped up at all the government offices and bus stations in the region.
