Leaders and cadres of Congress, CPI (ML)-New Democracy, All India Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, TJAC, CPI, CPI(M), BJP, CITU, IFTU, PDSU, PYL, SFI, AISF and RTC JAC were taken into preventive custody and shifted to different police stations across the erstwhile undivided district since Friday night.
Police made these arrests to prevent them from proceeding to Tank Bund in Hyderabad to participate in Sakala Janula Samme given by the TSRTC JAC.
Among those who were taken into custody included DCC presidents Manala Mohan Reddy (Nizamabad) and Kailash Srinivas (Kamareddy), A. Ramesh Babu and K. Bhoomaiah, CPI (M) and CPI district secretaries respectively, V. Prabhakar (AIKMS), M. Bhaskar (TJAC), V. Krishna (IFTU), M. Sudhakar (PYL) and Noorjahan (CITU).
In a statement the arrested leaders strongly condemned their arrests -- describing it as undemocratic and unbecoming of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. They alleged that Mr. Rao wants to rule the State with the help of police force instead of solving the grievances of people. Days are numbered for his dictatorial rule, they said.
The police, meanwhile, made an elaborate bandobust by deploying a large posse of force in connection with the RTC strike and also Supreme Court’s judgment on the long pending case of Rama Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. Senior police officers personally supervised law and order situation by going round the sensitive areas. They heaved a sigh of relief with the day passing off peacefully without a single incident.
