A day ahead of the proposed ‘Chalo Assembly’ programme by the students demanding separate Statehood for Telangana, police have virtually surrounded the Osmania University campus, the epicentre of pro-Statehood agitations and removed the students at the relay hunger strike camps in front of the Arts College building on Wednesday morning.
Tension is palpable on the sprawling Osmania University campus, as massive police forces laid siege to it and sealed the entry points. The University hostels have already been closed down by the Government, but the Andhra Pradesh High Court reversed the Government orders on Wednesday. The police vigilance is so tight that even Chukka Ramaiah, an MLC was prevented from entering the campus prompting the 80-year-old man to stage sit-in on the road for sometime.
Around 8.30 a.m. police made an abortive attempt to vacate the students at the relay hunger strike campus arguing that their presence was in violation of the prohibitory orders in force. However, students argued with the police saying that they were only peacefully sitting in demonstration. An hour later, the police returned with much bigger contingents and forcibly evacuated the relay hunger strike camps.
As the political leaders grappled with the emerging situation in the State Assembly arguing for and against the bifurcation of the State, the police is gearing up for a showdown with the agitators on Thursday. A police spokesman has already appealed to common public to postpone their visit to the State capital on Thursday, unless it was very very urgent. Police have also advised the Government to close down all the educational institutions too.
Meanwhile, the city police is making fool proof arrangements to foil the ‘chalo assembly’ programme on Thursday. All the roads leading to the State Assembly will be closed down and heavy contingents of police are being deployed to physically prevent any attempt to rush towards the Assembly building.
Police have begun checking all the vehicles coming into the city at the check posts set up on all entry points into the State capital. The vigil is likely to be intensified tonight as police apprehends that agitators might sneak into the State capital in the night.
