Students demand Minister’s resignation over Inter fiasco

Police detain over 450 protesters seeking suspension of officials

Gathering momentum: Activists being detained by police during a protest in Hyderabad on Monday.

Hundreds of activists from various political parties and student unions were on Monday detained when they tried to stage a protest against the bungling in the Intermediate results.

The police claimed that the activists were taken into custody to ease the crippling situation and were let off in the evening.

Protesters tried to lay siege to the Board of Intermediate Office and the Pragathi Bhavan, official residence of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao in the morning.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said 450 people were taken into preventive custody. “Almost 280 people were from different parts of the State including Adilabad, Nizamabad and Karimnagar,” he said.

The protesters demanded the suspension of the Board officials responsible for the goof up and the resignation of Education Minister G. Jagadish Reddy. “Despite taking action against the Board officials including Secretary A. Ashok, the government deployed heavy police forces, who are not allowing us to stage a protest peacefully,” an NSUI activist said, while he was being whisked away by the police. “We are not even allowed to take out a peace walk to express our solidarity to more than 20 students who have taken their lives due to the negligence by the Board. The police are not even allowing us to reach the venue,” another protester from Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena said.

The police picked up BJP State president K. Laxman when he sat on indefinite strike in the party office, a short distance away from the Board office. Leaders from various political parties including Congress’s Anjan Kumar Yadav and V. Hanumantha Rao, Telangana Jana Samithi chief Prof. Kodandaram, former TDP MP Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy and its State president L. Ramana were confined to their houses and prevented from reaching the venue.

Senior Congress leader and former Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir was taken into preventive custody from his residence.

“Jagadish Reddy is responsible for several student deaths in the State and he must resign immediately,” CPI general secretary Chada Venkata Reddy said.