ith blue bands tied to their foreheads and blue flags raised, more than 350 students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) marched to the entrance of the campus to welcome the 27 persons who were arrested on March 22. After literally waiting for the whole day in anticipation, the accused returned to the campus about 45 minutes before midnight.
The accused were greeted with loud cheers from the students, who marched from the Shopcom area to the main gate to welcome the 27 persons, including two faculty members Prof. K. Y. Ratnam and Prof. Tathagatha Sengupta from UoH. Choruses of ‘Inquilab zindabad’ and ‘Lal salaam’ boomed, and a huge celebration broke out the moment all of the accused reached the campus in three buses.
The students also lit torches as they walked alongside all the accused, who received a rousing welcome into the campus after they had reached. Prof. K. Y. Ratnam, an associate professor at the political science department, lead the march along with UoH student Dontha Prashanth, Congress spokesperson M. Krishank and others.
Police deployment in the campus however was minimal, when compared to last week. Last Tuesday, the 23 students, two outsiders and two faculty members were arrested after a police crackdown on students when they were protesting at vice-chancellor Prof. Appa Rao’s lodge.
