A police officer stated that a total of 53 students were detained as a precautionary measure and later released.
When police arrested a number of students who were demonstrating against the use of earth-moving equipment to remove a plot of land on Sunday, tensions broke out on the University of Hyderabad (UoH) campus. Late on Sunday evening, the students who had been imprisoned were released. According to reports, the Telangana government intends to develop this site, which will entail establishing an IT park. The 400-acre property is close to the University of Hyderabad in Kanchan Gachibowli.
Citing environmental concerns, some college students and environmental groups are against the purported property auction. Students said that when they saw bulldozers, they hurried to the location. Some people scaled the machines, yelled anti-police slogans, and yelled for them to “go back.” A number of students were arrested during the demonstration.
53 pupils were detained as a precaution and then released, according to a police officer. According to authorities, the students who were demonstrating prevented government officials from doing their duties, and some of them even attacked police officers. Those concerned will be the subject of recorded cases.
Student Union Condemns Police Action
In a statement, the Hyderabad University Students’ Union (UOHSU) called for the quick release of the students who had been detained and denounced the police action. UOHSU claims that after learning about the police and JCB machine deployment on the Eastern Campus of UoH, the student union and Joint Action Committee (JAC) members planned a nonviolent demonstration in the direction of the location.
The JCB machines were allegedly brought in to remove forest area, according to UOHSU, which raised grave worries regarding the campus’s ecological and regional integrity. According to their statement, police allegedly mistreated and forcibly imprisoned numerous students in spite of nonviolent democratic protests. More than 50 pupils were taken into custody.
Political Reactions and Past Protests
The UOHSU General Secretary and other union members were reportedly among the arrests, according to students. In a social media video, a Hyderabad University student explained that they hurried to the Eastern Campus to protest after learning that police were barricading the area and clearing the forest with bulldozers. Students had earlier demonstrated under the UOHSU flag on March 13 and March 29, calling on the Telangana government to stop the land auction and register the property in the university’s name.
