Fasting students shifted to King George Hospital

Five students of the Andhra University Joint Action Committee who commenced an indefinite fast since Monday night near the Gandhiji statue in the campus have been shifted by the police to the King George Hospital on Wednesday morning.

This was done in accordance with the State Human Rights Commission’s order not to allow indefinite fasts in the campus. The five students occupied the place of six others who were shifted to the KGH by the police on Monday night. Though their fast started as a relay hunger strike, the students continued the fast in spite of the police on Tuesday night asking them to call it off.

There were only a handful of students with the fasting students when a large posse of policemen removed the five students around 8.20 a.m. Mobile phones of the fasting students were taken away before they were shifted to the KGH.

After removing the students, woman police constables along with a Sub-Inspector were made to sit on the chairs of the fasting students to prevent other students to take their place but about dozen students sat in front of them and commenced their fast.

After some time the students demanded the woman police constables to vacate the chairs which led to some tension. Later the woman police vacated the chairs and the fasting students occupied the chairs.

Praja Rajyam MLA of Gajuwaka Ch. Venkataramaiah along with his party workers blocked the main gate of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant for about one-and-a-half hours in the morning. Fresh batches of Corporators and leaders commenced relay hunger strike at the camps of the Congress and the Telugu Desam in front of the GVMC main building.