Tension prevailed at Osmania University (OU) campus for second day on Wednesday when police allegedly fired rubber bullets on students who are agitating for deletion of Clause 14 F from the Presidential Orders of 1975.
However, the police denied firing rubber bullets, but said that teargas shells were indeed lobbed at the protesting students. The students meanwhile maintained that the police resorted to firing rubber bullets when they attempted to take out a rally from the Arts College to Gun Park.
The students entered into heated arguments with police when it stopped the rally, pointing out that Section 144 is in place in the city. Protests, rallies and dharnas are prohibited under the section 144. Angered by the police action, the students raised `Go Back Police’ and ‘Jai Telangana’ slogans.
The tension escalated when the students clashed with the police and started to pelt stones at police station near the NCC gate on the campus.
Sensing the situation going out of hand, the police lobbed tear gas shells and chased the students by firing rubber bullets. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East Zone) Y Gangadhar said there was no permission to undertake any rallies or processions. However, the protesters were trying to defy the ban orders, he stated.
“Police used only teargas shells to disperse the protesting students... neither rubber bullets were used nor were the students caned,” the officer said. One Post Graduate student Sampath was left injured due to the police firing while another student was taken ill after inhaling the gas which had emanated from the shells.
The students complained that the many of them were taken ill after inhaling gas from tear gas shells. They alleged the police deliberately used expired tear gas shells and was playing with lives of students.
Meanwhile the Osmania University Examinations Registrar announced postponement of all exams, including the engineering examination. He said the revised date for conducting the examinations will be announced later. Elsewhere, the APSRTC said that it would not resume bus services to the OU campus and surrounding areas even after the 48-hour bandh period comes to an end. Services will be resumed after normalcy returns, an APSRTC official said.