Hyderabad: Tension soars as students across India join Chalo HCU' stir

Hyderabad: Students from colleges across India gathered at the University of Hyderabad on Monday in response to a Chalo-HCU call given by the joint action committee of student bodies protesting Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula’s suicide.

The Joint Action Committee for Social Justice, University of Hyderabad, planned a huge rally “Chalo HCU — Justice for Rohith Vemula,” comprising students from Central Universities across India. The rally is part of JAC’s decision to intensify students’ agitation to pile pressure on the Centre to accept their five-point charter of demands, mainly removal of Prof Appa Rao from UoH vice-chancellor’s post and punish culprits booked under SC/ST Atrocities Act Including Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya.

Read: Hyderabad scholar death: Badgered Vice-Chancellor goes on leave

Students from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, Haryana and a few other states expressed their rage and solidarity to the students’ movement for social justice.

High tension prevailed at varsity as protest marches are underway inside the campus and students from other states who tried to barge in have been stopped at the university gate by the police.

Addressing the gathering at the university gate, JAC members Prabhakar, Prashanth, Venkatesh Chouhan and others demanded police should go back. “Police should not be allowed to enter autonomous institutions,” JAC members said.

Read: HCU Suicide: 7 more UoH students go on indefinite protest fast

Earlier, a fresh set of seven students started an indefinite hunger strike after the earlier group of seven students was admitted to hospital after three days of their protest fast on Saturday.

The seven students who began the indefinite hunger strike are Agnes Amala T. of PhD human rights; K.P. Pramila of PhD gender studies; Devi Prasad of PhD sociology, Mubasheer Hameed of MA sociology, Hari Krishna of MA economics, Prathik Bovmi of MA English and Kiran Kumar Gowd of MPhil political science.

Read: Rohith's mother Radhika Vemula sent to ICU

On Saturday, the police had shifted seven students after health deteriorated after three days fast. Two of them were hospitalised while five others were treated at the UoH health centre.

Cyberabad police deployed four platoons of armed forces outside the university. About 150 law and order police including one DCP, one additional DCP, three ACPs, 15 inspectors and 15 sub-inspectors were deployed inside the campus. Water cannons and fire tenders were also placed in the campus.

Madhapur ACP, M Ramana Kumar, told DC that they are allowing all the students to enter the campus, no student is being stopped at the gate.

Read: Hyderabad varsity VC Appa Rao says he took leave to facilitate talks

The body of Rohith Vemula was found hanging in the varsity's hostel room on January 18, which sparked massive protests across the country.

The Hyderabad University had suspended Rohith and four other students after they allegedly assaulted an ABVP leader in August last year.