Drama over Osmania University student suicide continues

Hyderabad: Violence escalated at Maneru Hostel on the Osmania University campus as scores of armed policemen broke open the door and barged into hostel rooms early on Monday, dragging out students  who had refused to let them take away the dead body of E. Murali, the postgraduate student who committed suicide on Sunday. The body was taken to Gandhi Hospital.

The students had refused to hand over the body of Murali, who, in a suicide note had apologised to his mother for his extreme decision and said he was unable to cope with exams. 

“On being informed, police officials of OU had rushed to the crime scene. However, a group of students who had gathered at the hostel refused to allow them to shift the body and demanded that the family of Murali be paid ex gratia. Additional police forces were rushed to the campus,” said Inspector V. Ashok Reddy of the OU  police.

The protesting students claimed that more than 150 students were taken into custody late on Sunday; the police stated that they took 51 students into preventive custody.

Devender Reddy, a senior journalist with a regional channel, and video journalist Praveen, who were there to cover the suicide incident, were also detained by the police on Sunday night.

Other journalists claimed that the police had suddenly attacked Devender and Praveen and whisked them away from the hostel.

“After being confined for more than three hours in the OU police station, they released us on Monday morning,” the two journalists said. 

Later in the day, a group of journalists met the DGP M. Mahendar Reddy, and Hyderabad police commissioner V. V. Srinivasa Rao and submitted a memorandum seeking action against the police for their high-handedness.

However, the police have denied that the journalists were detained for long; they said they were let go immediately from the police station. 

"We allowed them to cover the protest on Sunday night. However, when we found them provoking the students even after we requested them against it, we took them to the station and let them go," said Inspector Ashok Reddy.

Tight security for funeral

The funeral rites of Eramaina Murali, a first-year student of OU who committed suicide on campus on Sunday, were performed at his village amid tight security. Police forces were deployed to Doulapur, and the roads connecting to the village, from Sunday night.

Doulapur is located in Siddipet district, within the Gajwel constituency, which is represented by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, and about eight kilometres away from the CM’s farmhouse in Eravalli. 

Before Murali’s body was taken there, early on Monday, around 100 policemen from the Siddipet police commissionerate were deployed at the village, and armed personnel from various wings were stationed on the roads connecting to it. Police pickets were set up at all points of entry into the village. 

To prevent protests and condolence rallies being held in the village, members of all political parties were taken into preventive custody and outsiders were not allowed to enter the village.