Amrutha Avasarala, Pune
Two policewomen while riding a two-wheeler, dragged a female protester by the hair to catch hold and take into preventive custody. As many as 50 student activists were taken into custody.
The ‘Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University’ in Rajendranagar, Hyderabad has been seeing student protests for two weeks. The students’ objective is to demand the government to revoke a Government Order, GO-55 allotting 100 acres near the university for the construction of a new Telangana High Court building.
The student body has expressed their concerns that the new complex would destroy the ecology and the biodiversity of the region. Also, the barren land is necessary for the students to carry out agricultural research which would help their course multifold. The students have been protesting for two weeks asking the government to find barren land elsewhere for the construction of the new High Court complex.
The classes were suspended due to the ongoing protests. The students too were adamant about returning to classes once the GO-55 was revoked, preventing the complex construction.
Fifty ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) student union activists from Osmania University joined the student protest. As a result, a police force was deployed to arrest protestors on a preventive detention basis.
While a female student was trying to escape the arrest, two policewomen chased her on a two-wheeler and held her by the hair which led to the girl being dragged. In addition, this act was covered on camera and made viral on social media platforms. The incident took place on Wednesday, 24th January around noon.
Soon, the Cyberabad Police called for an inquiry into the incident saying that a video of improper action by certain police personnel had come to the notice of Cyberabad Police and added that a detailed inquiry is being conducted to take appropriate action.
MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha, the daughter of BRS Chief K Chandrashekar Rao, took to X to bring the incident to notice and asked the National Human Rights Commission to look into the mishap.
Post this incident, SFI union members joined the protest along with former CPI(M) MLA Julakanti Ranga Reddy. The enraged students said that some legislators have promised to join the protest soon.